Peering Into The Future
by morvamp
Summary: Post 2x22. Elena's not handling Stefan's absence well and Bonnie offers her the option of peeking into her future. It's nothing like she expected, but the moments may be exactly what she needs to jump-start her life in the right direction.
1. Chapter 1

**Rated M:**** Language and Adult Content**

**I know I really shouldn't have started a new story when I am way behind in updating my other one, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone and I had to get it out. Also, I haven't visited the site for a little while, but I'm sure there are a ton of other stories following the progression of Damon and Elena's relationship from the incredible moment we received in the season finale and that is exactly why I have decided to take a different approach.**

**This story is pretty much my excuse to only write the important moments of a possible Delena timeline without all of the necessary transitional phases of their lives. It's going to span quite a distance into the future jumping rapidly and only reveal snapshots instead of the entire story, but I will briefly fill in any important blanks at the beginning of each future memory. I must warn you, not every chapter will be fluff and there will be some angst involved, but ultimately I hope you like the finished product.**

**Please enjoy!**

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><p><strong>- May 12, Present Day -<strong>

"It's okay to love them both; I did." Katherine smugly suggested as she tossed the empty vile in my direction.

I caught it with ease as the whoosh of her departure sent my hair fluttering around my face. I took a deep breath as the satin strands settled, unlike my hyperactive nerves considering the uncomfortable situation I've found myself in. I'm not sure I'm ready to face the mistake I've just executed or even if it was a mistake; all I know is that I have forced myself, as well as Damon, into a very messy situation that has the possibility of quickly spiraling out of control.

Figuring there was no sense in delaying the inevitable, I turned to face him. I could already see the rejuvenation process of the mysterious liquid taking effect across Damon's features and this brought me a heart-wrenching sense of relief. He'd managed to prop himself up on one elbow and life was stretching across his features giving his previously white-porcelain skin a flush of color. The droplets of moisture had already begun receding through the surface of his skin and when his eyebrows arched I knew a fragment of Damon had resurfaced.

I couldn't resist the smile that stretches across my lips at his motion because those two arches of hair configured about 85% of Damon's reactions and right now they were revealed that he was exactly as taken aback by the sudden change of events as I was.

His lips parted and I braced myself for a question I was not ready to answer; one concerning my feelings towards him and his brother. At the moment, it would be impossible to formulate an answer because honestly I had no freaking idea what I was feeling. The things he confessed and his previously impending death had my heart all folded in on itself, but another part of that organ had shattered under the news I just received regarding Stefan. I was completely split in two and a piece of me wondered if I would ultimately end up like Katherine, tearing these two brothers apart, because it certainly appeared I was headed in that direction.

"Elena, we have to find Stefan," Damon declared and I'm taken by surprise. A mixture of relief and selfish disappoint swirled around the base of stomach as I listened to his words; the very words that had nothing to do with the scene that had just been acted out between us on his bed.

But I disregarded my wounded ego and refuted, "You're not going anywhere in your condition." I wanted him to help Stefan, but I also didn't want him becoming collateral damage in the process.

His voice rose a bit, signifying exactly how much effect the liquid had already produced, and challenged, "Try and stop me."

I let out of a breath of air because now I knew for sure that Damon was completely back to his arrogant, stubborn self. It had been so nice experiencing the vulnerable and forgiving side of him that had been present just moments ago, but apparently all I was left with was the typical Damon I had become all too familiar with.

Typical Damon clumsily maneuvered himself from his bed and added, "Stefan just sacrificed himself for my cure, whatever the hell that means, and I'm not going to let anything happen to him."

I waivered for a moment in the spot I was standing and debated whether to move or remain firmly planted where I was. Ultimately, my feet refused to budge and I countered his heroic declaration with the obvious kink in his plan. "And how exactly do you plan on defeating Klaus on your own?"

He merely shrugged me off and started looking around the room for something as he responded, "I haven't gotten that far in the planning process yet."

I scoffed at his typical impulsive nature because it wouldn't hurt him to devise a plan once in a while instead of running off on some suicide mission. I wanted him to go; I really did. I just wanted him to think about what he planned on doing when he got wherever he was going.

I crossed my arms across my chest defensively and suggested in a voice that didn't come out as lightly as I had anticipated, "Well maybe you should before you go off and get yourself killed, which is exactly why this whole thing happened in the first place."

He finally stopped looking around the room and picked up a useless weapon from the top drawer of his nightstand before shoving it into his pocket. He turned to face me and I could see that I've made some progress with my last statement. His crystal blue eyes were portraying a certain sense of warmth and understanding as he took a few steps towards me and confessed, "Elena, look; I'm shouldering enough blame for the both of us right now without yours added to it. I've spent my entire life torturing Stefan for turning me into a vampire and he still turns around and saves the fucking day. I'm not going to let my overly-compensating brother suffer when it should be me. So you can continue to stand in my way or you can move aside and let me handle it."

His response came as a shock because that wasn't how I intended my previous statement to be taken. I just wanted him to see how stupidly impulsive he was being, but perhaps my subconscious was placing blame on him and I decided not to argue with it at the moment. Instead, I could see that this was important to Damon and so I decided that if I wasn't going to be able to stop him, than I might as well offer my assistance. "Fine; then I'm coming with you."

But he unleashed his determination on me and declared, "No, you're going to stay right here. I've got enough to deal with already without having to worry about your life on my hands as well."

"I care about him as much as you do and I'm not just going to sit around and wait for news. I've watched too many of the people I love die already and I want to help. So let me!" My voice held the perfect amount of strength and I was sure my point had been made because his strong front cracked. I witnessed it happening right before my very eyes and a sense of elation coursed through my veins in victory.

Damon stepped forward again so that his face rested only a few inches from mine. There was genuine compassion in his eyes as he questioned, "And what happens if you have to watch another one die tonight? Can you really handle that?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but found myself at a loss for words. I wanted to argue my point, but honestly I wasn't sure if I could. It had been hard enough having to watch Damon nearly die in my arms and I had no idea how I would handle watching someone I actually knew I loved die. So instead I dodged the question and vulnerably stated, "I'm not sure I can handle the possibility of both of you dying tonight." Part of me hoped this had some effect in keeping him here, but the larger part of me knew this wasn't going to be the result. And another part of me wondered why I was so dead set on securing the longevity of his supernatural life instead of my boyfriend's.

Damon's hands reached up to cup the sides of my face and I involuntarily leaned into one. The subtle contact of his cool skin was refreshing against my cheeks and for the time being I just wanted to relish in this moment for as long as I could. I closed my eyes and pictured this exact moment occurring in an alternate life where it would be appropriate, but all too soon Damon's tender voice pulled me from that dream and I opened my eyes to meet the blinding brilliance of his. "I can take care of myself and right now I need to take care of Stefan. He's done more than enough to fix my mistakes in the past and it's time that I finally fix one of my own. We'll both be fine, Elena, but I need to go."

He dropped his hands and slid past me towards the door. With the wisps of my alternate reality still swiping for recognition, I realized that I couldn't let him leave without talking about the intimate moment that happened between us. "Damon…"

He turned around with his brows lifted urging me to continue on. I hesitated for a moment before two words fumbled from my mouth, "About tonight."

Damon waited for me to add more, but I couldn't. I still had no idea how deep my feelings for him extended and so instead I just waited for him to address the issue. Perhaps then I would be able to form some sort of a response.

He rolled his eyes at the stretch of silence that followed my short statement and assured, "You don't have to worry about it. I know you love Stefan and it's always going to be Stefan." His voice was elevated and slightly mocking as the last sentence escaped his lips; completely different from the accepting way it had been just moments before.

Damon hesitated for a moment before his hand swept through the air and continued in his typical deflective manner, "You were simply following your nature and giving me what I wanted before I fell into the vast unknown. Thank you for that, but honestly you should know me better by now. I'd never be stupid enough to believe you actually feel the same way, Elena, but it still means a lot that you cared. At least now I know you've forgiven me and we can move on to bigger and better things, like saving my stupid hero of a brother."

Part of me wanted to counter what he had just said because as I watched him explain I could see the subtle moments of agony as they flashed across his face. Although he had done his best to hide them, I _did_ know him better than to believe any front he constructed to hide the truth that I was hurting him. I didn't want to inflict anymore pain on him because I'd done it for so long now, but I was too scared to hash out the details of our relationship at the moment.

And apparently I had left my big girl panties behind because I nodded in agreement and muttered, "Be safe."

He simply replied, "I will," and disappeared through his bedroom door leaving me to deal with my building anxiety over both his and his brother's life. And as I did this, I felt a notion creep into my conscious before I stubbornly pushed it away. That notion being that our intimate moment before Katherine's rescue held more meaning than it really should have considering how much I loved his brother.

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><p><strong>- June 2, Present Day -<strong>

"I'm fine, Bonnie," I insisted for what felt like the hundredth time this week, although I knew it was a lie.

Three weeks had passed since Stefan's disappearance and in response I had somehow shriveled down into the zombie version of myself; performing my standard daily tasks, but completely void of any capability besides sulking. The first two weeks had been full of promising hope, but after failed attempts at locator spell after locator spell that hope seemed to dwindle into nothing. Klaus' witches appeared to have made any possibility of finding Stefan a bleak reality.

This week had managed to affect me the most. I'd grown hollow from the absence of his presence and my disintegrating demeanor had managed to alert the constant surveillance of those who cared about me. Bonnie was on duty today and she'd resisted asking the question regarding my emotional state for almost a solid hour, so her untamed concern came as no surprise.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at my lack-luster attempt of persuasion and refuted, "I know you're lying, Elena. Katherine Heigl just had an orgasm in a public restaurant in front of her co-workers and you didn't even giggle."

I forced myself to focus on the television screen just in time to see Gerard Butler pulling a remote control from the sticky fingers of a toddler. I watched the tube for a few more seconds and let out a forced laugh in an attempt to get Bonnie off of my back, but it failed miserably.

She turned to face me and I could feel her eyes penetrating into the side of my cheek as she probed, "We can talk about it if you want."

I let out a long sigh before I turned to face her. "There's nothing we haven't already talked about. Stefan's gone; he could be dead and now my future seems as black as ever. I've never had to accept the thought of living my life without him in it before. I've considered it, of course, but he was always there immediately after the thought flickered through my mind solidifying his spot; you know?"

As the words spilled from my lips, I couldn't help but consider how ridiculous I sounded. What happened to the independent me that stood on her own two feet without the assistance of a guy to lean on? Oh right, she was introduced into the supernatural world and forced to realize exactly how brittle she really was. I was a walking disaster with a constant target on my back and I was honestly so tired of it all.

Concern shadowed Bonnie's eyes as she weakly responded, "I understand. I was absolutely lost when I thought Jeremy had died." A tremble rocked through both our bodies before she continued, "It's a lot to handle knowing the person you love might not always be there."

"Yeah," was all I could respond with as my eyes fell to the beige carpet covering Bonnie's living room floor.

"Maybe I should call Damon," she suggested.

The idea _did_ sound promising. Somehow since Stefan's disappearance, Damon had become the most comforting friend I could have asked for when he was around, which hadn't been that often because half of the time he had been out searching for his long lost brother. Perhaps it was because he was the only person that truly cared about Stefan with as much intensity as I did, or maybe it was because his encounter with death had brought out a more understanding side to him.

I wasn't sure of the reason, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that I had a friend who was experiencing exactly the same intensity of pain I was and didn't force me to talk about it all of the time like everyone else. He knew what I was going through; respected me when I needed space and offered his own when I needed a shoulder to cry on. We hadn't discussed his near death experience any further since that initial night and instead had fallen into a support system; one where he supported me more than I supported him since I was so goddamn unstable.

Although, a large part of me wanted to accept Bonnie's offer, Damon would force me to lift my spirits and he definitely wouldn't accept the behavior I was oozing out. At the moment, I really just wanted to continue wallowing in my own self-pity, so I dismissively shook my head back and forth and grunted.

My response caused Bonnie to position her legs Indian style on the couch and mutter, "Alright, I really didn't want to do this, but I think there is something you need to see."

I rolled my eyes at her attempt to lighten my mood and stated, "I've already seen your Flintstones underpants and even they won't get a laugh from me today."

Bonnie scrunched up her nose and shot me a look that clearly expressed how un-amused she was at my attempt at humor. "Very funny, but I actually had something else in mind. After Emily helped me bring Jeremy back, I had terrible nightmares of losing him again. I got fed up and decided to check out the grimiores to see if there was anything I could do to make them stop, but instead I stumbled upon a spell that lets you peek into the future."

This had my interest peaked and unconsciously I inched my body forward as I hung on her every word.

"There are different levels that you can set the spell to and I just set it to the lowest level, which took me to one moment a few years from now, and I saw you in my future."

I knew there were a ton of other questions I should have been considering, but only one was prominent in my mind. "Was I happy?"

Her face was unreadable as she suggested, "I really think that this is something you're going to need to check out for yourself."

That didn't sound promising, and I momentarily debated not going through with the spell, but ultimately my curiosity won on. "Let's do it then, but if I'm going through with this then I want to see more than just one moment. Is there a way to see multiple portions of my future?" The possibility of revealing my future had seriously excited me, which was an emotion I hadn't experienced in a while and it felt positively enthralling.

Bonnie nodded her head at my question and answered, "Of course, I told you there were different levels to this thing." Her tone suddenly became very serious as she continued, "But I must warn you, I have only seen up until a certain point. I'm not sure how your entire future pans out and it might not be what you're expecting. Some memories may be exciting, romantic, and even blissful; but others could be downright heartbreaking. So are you sure you want to go through with this?"

I didn't care what sort of unwanted experiences and emotions my future memories held because god knows I was going through the worst in the present moment. So I nodded my head and replied, "Absolutely. Get the book."

Within a moment, Bonnie had retrieved her spell book and positioned herself beside me on the couch. She flipped through the pages before landing on the appropriate one and asked, "Are you ready?"

I raised my eyebrows at her and mocked, "What, no chalk or holy water?"

Since my mood had lifted so severely, Bonnie spared me her reprimanding and simply smiled instead. "Not every spell requires preparation and props, Elena. But since we're stalling, I also need to warn you that you're just going to be an entity through this experience. The moments in this particular future timeline have already happened and you can't change what you do or say. You'll just experience while your other-self lives them. You'll be in your own mind, but won't have any thoughts other the ones you're other self has and you'll pretty much follow through the motions like a robot set on auto-play."

Her eyes drifted to the open page of the spell book before they shot back up to look at me. "You'll remember everything when you get back, of course, but I just wanted to let you know how it's going to be during the spell."

I let out a sigh of relief and replied, "That's fine because at the moment I'm honestly not sure if I'm up for making any of my future decisions."

Bonnie let out a low laugh and said, "Alright then, let's get started."

But I threw my hand up into the air and interrupted, "Wait, Bonnie; was your future what you expected?"

She smiled back at me and responded, "Even better," before her eyes lowered back to the page and she slowly began chanting in that typical witchy language I don't even try to comprehend anymore.

I watched her and listened to the poetic way the undeciphered words left her mouth as my eyes began to droop. I struggled to stay awake for a few more seconds before I finally let myself drift into the darkness that was my future.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_

**Just an FYI: The updates for this story will be sporadic until the last few remaining chapters of my other story have been written, but after that my posts will be pretty standard.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy crap! I was seriously shocked to see how many of you subscribed to and favorited this story just after the first chapter. I'm going to admit that I'm a little nervous with so many of you reading it, but I'm going to try my best not to let you all down. I should have mentioned this in the first chapter, but I am taking a more human approach with this story. There will be a tiny bit of supernatural aspects thrown in, since it is a VD story, but not too much. **

**Alright, this chapter is different from anything else I have ever written before and it's probably what's adding to my nerves. There is more dialogue in here than I have ever included in a single chapter. I tend to express more emotions during conversations, but since these convos were already so long, I didn't want to add too much around it in fear the chapter would get way too out of control length wise.**

**Also, this chapter ends pretty abruptly, but that's because these are just going to be glimpses of Elena's future. She doesn't have control over how long the memories last and so when the spell feels like enough insight has been given from that particular glimpse, it moves onto the next.**

_**Please enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>- September 1, 2011 -<strong>

I ran water over my empty dinner plate and said goodnight to Jeremy and Ric, who had settled in with us after Jenna's death, and ascended the stairs to my bedroom. I had been following this same routine every night, but as my foot breached the doorframe _his_ voice destroyed any standard plans I had of passing out early. "We're going out," he announced as if this was some simple statement and didn't require me to put on decent clothes and treck out into a world I had so successfully managed to separate myself from.

Damon was lounging with perfect nonchalance in my window nook looking exactly like a Versace advertisement. In his black leather jacket and dark jeans he possessed the perfect mixture of dark and handsome to make any girl keel over in lust, but his sexual appeal held little effect on me now a days; _only a little_.

His appearances had become routine over the past three months and they'd managed to lighten my mood enough for everyone to back off and give me much needed personal space. But that extra space I'd received from everyone else had soon after been claimed by Damon.

I didn't mind really since his presence always seemed to settle my still present anxiety over his brother, whom I still hadn't heard a peep from. That's right, not a single word. No call, no text, no letter or Facebook message; not a single fucking word.

Normally when Damon came over, we just relaxed and watched a movie. Very little talking was ever involved and I knew it was Damon's way of making sure I wasn't secretly falling to pieces. The notion was sweet really, and it was comforting knowing I had someone watching my back in a subtle way, even though there was never a doubt in my mind that he always would.

Until that night he had never insisted I leave the safe haven, or was it a prison, of my room. The idea immediately filled my stomach with unease and I had no intention of submitting as I made my way to flop myself across the top of my bed. "I'm just not feeling it right now, Damon. I want to take a shower and then curl up in my bed with a nice book."

His eyes glanced to the tattered paper back lying on my bed. "Yeah, reading Pride and Prejudice for the 60th time sounds promising, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret; Elizabeth's going to end up with Mr. Darcy everytime."

"It's not about knowing the ending; it's about escaping from reality into a world where everything makes sense," I argued.

Damon scrunched up his nose at my statement. "Let me assure you that although I wasn't exactly around yet in the late 1700s, nothing about that world made sense."

I scoffed and said, "You're missing the point."

"No I'm not, I'm just dodging it. Look; I get it. The happy ending makes you all warm and fuzzy inside the same way rainbows and puppies do, but it's time you stop sulking and start living in the real world again. I know it doesn't feel like it now, with Stefan still MIA and all, but you might find that your own happy ending is still out there waiting for you." Immediately after the words left his mouth, he appeared disgusted with himself. He rubbed his face with one hand as though he was wiping away any residue lingering from the disgusting words and stood up. "We seriously need to get the hell out of this bedroom before something like that comes from my mouth again."

A smile stretched across my lips at both his reaction to his own comment and at the realization that Damon had said something along the lines of being hopefully romantic and ridiculously cliché. "That _was_ pretty cheesy."

"It's your fault for forcing me to stoop that low and if you'd just get moving I wouldn't be forced to act like one of your menopausal girlfriends all the time." He made his way to the bed and swirled my body around so that my legs dangled off the edge. All I had to do was lower them to the floor, but I had no intention of accepting defeat that easily.

So instead I positioned my legs back on the top of my comforter and laughed for the first time in what felt like ages. The vibrations shot all the way through my toes and fingertips, filling my body with warmth it had previously been lacking, as I teased, "But you're doing such a great job at it."

He held his hand up in the air and noted, "See, you're laughing already and the night's just begun. Now get up and get a shower so we can get the hell of here."

I let my face fall as I sighed and admitted, "It just doesn't feel right getting out of this house and doing normal things while Stefan's still out there parading around with Klaus." I had no idea what parading around with Klaus actually meant; all I knew was that it meant he wasn't here with me and that pierced right through my skin like a sharp blade aimed directly for my heart.

Damon slumped a little at the downward trajectory of my mood and took a seat next to me on the bed. "Elena, I know the situation sucks, but it's time to move on; I have."

I narrowed my eyes and looked up to face him as I challenged, "I hardly consider spending every few days traveling the world out searching for him moving on."

"It's just a leftover reflex; don't look too much into it."

I knew him so much better than he gave me credit for. He still held the tiniest bit of hope that he'd eventually find Stefan and it was like a parasite constantly eating away at him. It's what kept him moving and especially what kept him out searching. Over the months, he had become a specialized master at hiding it from everyone else, but not from me. His hope was one of the biggest reasons I hadn't lost my own and it was this shared faith that had brought us closer together than ever before.

Damon had kept my beacon of light still flickering from time to time and I figured that he at least deserved some form of my cooperation after everything he had done for me in the past months. So I pushed my disdain for our future night's events aside and asked, "Alright, where exactly are you taking me?"

My acceptance of the evening's plans caused him to grin, making his face resemble one of a giddy school boy's, and responded, "Just dress comfortably, I'm not taking you to some fancy restaurant or anything."

Impulsively I pretended to appear offended and questioned, "What, I'm not worth it," but immediately regretted muttering the stupid words. We had avoided comments like this since Damon's near death experience figuring it best to simply ignore the way Damon felt about me. It worked out better for both of us this way, or maybe it just worked out better for me.

But he played it off well. There was only a moment of desolation in the very beginning of his statement as he answered, "You know you are, but I've got a little something better in mind to show you."

I threw my hands up in frustration and exasperated, "Oh, just tell me! I'm really not in the mood for surprises."

"Patience would do you a hell of a lot of good, you know? But I'm not spilling, so just shut up and get moving."

I pouted like a toddler because I knew I could get away with it before I asked, "And what do you plan on doing while I get ready?"

His eyes flickered to my door as he replied, "Well, I could go down and kick Ric and Jeremy's asses again on PlayStation, but I think I'm just going to relax here."

I lifted myself onto my elbows and with an uncomfortable uncertainty pressing against my chest I asked, "You're just going to relax in my room by yourself?"

Damon leaned back against one of my pillows and threw his arms behind his head. He looked downright comfortable as he glared back at me with that satisfied smirk slashed across his face. "Yeah, right here on your bed. The new episode of Teen Mom is on and I think it'd be a little embarrassing watching it around the other guys don't you think? They might ask me to hand over my man card and I'm rather attached to the thing."

I rolled my eyes at his obvious lie and muttered, "You're absurd."

"But absolutely charming," he finished with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Now go!"

It took me a total of twenty minutes to shower and get ready. After throwing on a sage green t-shirt, dark jeans, and signature set of chucks, I stood up straight and placed my hands on my hips. "Ready."

Damon, who had picked up Pride and Prejudice while waiting, lifted his eyes over the top and glanced at me. "Aren't you going to dry your hair? I don't want your little human body catching a cold on our adventure."

I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through the wet strands on top of my head before I responded, "It's eighty degrees outside and it'll dry in the car."

Satisfied with my response, he threw the book onto the bed and said, "Alright then; let's go."

With the windows down and my hair flying around my face, we tore down interstate 81. As we passed yet another car with ease, I took a look at the speedometer and felt my pulse accelerate to the same heightened speed it registered. Although, my frantic heartbeat was merely a whisper compared to the roar of his car's engine, Damon had no difficulty hearing it.

He turned to look at me, lips featuring that heart-wrenching grin of his, and suggested, "Maybe you should put on your seatbelt."

I did as I was told, figuring it best if I survived the night, and realized I couldn't stand being kept in the dark any longer. "Where are we going?"

"Patience," he replied, elongating the word.

"I think I'm being pretty cooperative here, so the least you can do is tell me where we're going."

"You really are a buzz kill, you know that?" He let out an un-necessary breath of air and surrendered, "Fine, we're going to the zoo."

I stared back at him and repeated in a voice completely void of excitement, "The zoo."

Damon smiled and revealed exactly how satisfying the idea sounded to him and explained, "Yeah, I figured it might be someplace different since obviously Stefan was never able to take you. Too many tempting snacks for him to tear into if you know what I mean."

I shook my head back and forth and weakly ordered, "Don't do that."

He turned to face me with knitted brows and asked, "Do what?"

"Joke about him that way," I answered softly.

Damon sighed and refocused his attention through the front window of the car. "Elena, I can't tippy toe around you forever when it comes to him. You need to accept what's happened and learn how to handle it the same way a normal person does."

"And going to the zoo is the normal way to handle it?" I asked cynically.

"Not exactly, but animals are every girl's weakness. I figured it'd cheer you up."

It was so typical of Damon to throw his perception of my gender into the mix, but I couldn't deny that animals always had been a weakness of mine. So I gave up resisting, because what harm could possibly come from a zoo field trip, and mentioned, "They just might, but you're going the wrong way."

Damon shook his head dismissively and informed, "No I'm not. We're going to the Virginia Zoo."

"The one in Norfolk?" I asked with a slightly elevated voice.

"You didn't really think I'd take you to the one here did you?" He turned and appeared downright disappointed in my resistance. "C'mon, Elena; it only has … what, 10 animals? None in which are penguins and I refuse to go to a zoo without penguins."

"But it's two hours away," I practically moaned.

"You forget whose driving. We'll be there in thirty minutes; tops."

"I highly doubt that."

He turned to me again with an unmistaken twinkle in his ocean blue eyes. "Want to bet on it?"

I knew that he'd force me to anyway if I refused, so I just gave in without drawing it out. "Fine. What are we betting?"

"If we get there in less than thirty minutes, we do this every week; you and me. I don't care what we do just as long as we get you out of the house."

That sounded do-able enough. I had honestly expected much worse.

"I can accept that. And if I win, you have to stop running off without a clue to find Stefan. Instead, I want you to research Klaus' history and see where he's been. You never know, it might prove to be a little more effective than your method."

He looked at me with glistened puppy dog eyes and whined, "But planning isn't my style and I hate research. That's what the others are for."

I ignored his attempts to sway my offer and asked, "Do we have a deal?"

The puppy eyes disappeared as he reached his hand out to shake mine. "Deal."

We sat in comfortable silence for the remainder of the way and as we pulled past the directional sign for the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk and into the parking lot, I snuck a glance at the clock. Damnit if Damon hadn't been right. We'd made it there in a measly 28 minutes and I let out a sigh of defeat as my arms crossed over my chest.

Damon snickered beside me and teased, "You look absolutely adorable when you pout, which makes winning that much sweeter."

"Oh shut it," I muttered.

He maneuvered the mustang into the first parking spot and switched it into park when it suddenly dawned on me that we were the only car in the otherwise vacant lot. Despite the obvious observation, I blurted out, "The zoo's closed."

"Yes it is," he responded as if it didn't make a difference, which I'm sure to Damon it didn't.

"How are we supposed to visit a zoo that closed four hours ago?"

His voice was entirely too chipper considering the circumstance as he answered, "Easy. We're breaking in."

My head shook back and forth along with my criss-crossing arms as I refuted, "No, no, no we're not. I am not breaking into public property."

Damon rolled his eyes at my responsible behavior and chided, "Oh, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Buried under my sense of good judgment," I spat back.

His hand made its way to the door handle before he pushed the thing open and lifted himself from the driver's seat. "Well I'm going, so you can sit in the car and wait until I'm finished or you can tag along. It's up to you."

With that, he shut the car door leaving me behind as he made his way to the front entrance. It took me only about 10 seconds, before I threw open the passenger door and headed off to catch up with him. As I took my stride beside him, I shot a glance in his direction and noticed the satisfied smirk stretched across his lips. He was utterly beautiful when he was like this and I couldn't deny that my mood had seriously lifted since earlier. He was a cocky asshole sometimes, but apparently cocky asshole was the exact prescription I needed to rid myself of my downward funk.

We were still a good fifty feet away from the entrance when Damon stopped and headed toward the security fence surrounding the zoo. I followed his change of direction and asked, "What are we doing?"

He shushed me and replied in a low voice, "Being stealthy so keep your voice down."

I lowered my voice to mimic his and mentioned, "The entrance is that way," as we settled next to the fence.

"We're not using the entrance," he declared as he turned around and placed a hand on each side of my tiny waist. The feeling of his contact, even through the fabric of my t-shirt, sent a tremble through my body. It had been so long since anyone had touched me there and it had caught me completely off guard.

Damon must have felt it because he lowered his face down to my level and his piercing blue eyes were all I could see. "Calm down, Elena; it's just your hips. I need you to hold onto me so I can get us over this thing."

I nodded my head and laced one arm around his neck and the other around his back. Our bodies were flush against each other and I was very well aware of how close my lips were to the flawless skin of his neck. And as his arms slid past my hips and around my back, I almost sighed in content. For the first time since Stefan's departure I truly felt safe and a weird sense of satisfaction. I felt the clouds rumble in and my mind start to go hazy, when my feet left the ground and my stomach dropped a few inches.

It lasted only a second before my feet once again touched lush grass and we were on the inside of the abandoned zoo. As his arms detached themselves from around me, I let my own linger a moment longer than I should have before pulling them from around his leather jacket.

I looked up at him and saw the quizzical expression on his face and felt the need to say something; anything, to remove that suspicion. "That was fun," I blurted out stupidly.

The expression left his face as he smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder; the same way guys tend to do when they're acting all chummy. "The fun has only just begun, my dear. Now which animal would you like to visit first?"

By 12am, we had seen nearly every one of the 400 animals the zoo housed, including Damon's sacred penguins, and only my favorite was left. As I savored one last moment with the meerkats, I slid my arm through Damon's and leaned my head against the side of his shoulder. He looked down at me with that same quizzical expression from earlier, but didn't comment on my actions and instead asked, 'Ready to see the tigers?"

I smiled up at him and nodded my head before we made our way to my favorite attraction. As we walked, I kept my arm laced through his and couldn't help but notice how comfortable the arrangement felt. He really had somehow become my closest friend and part of me knew that I was probably hurting him a bit by continuing the way we were, but I needed it. It was selfish and I knew this, but I was sure Damon understood and I eased my guilt by assuring myself that I would eventually pay him back somehow.

Instead of focusing on the negative, I redirected my thoughts to our current adventure. I was having an amazing time and a sense of warmth spread through my chest when I considered how perfect Damon's idea for this field trip had been. He had known exactly what my tattered soul needed and the gesture had been so pure that I couldn't have been more grateful.

I found myself, once again, realizing how much I needed to repay him for this and everything else when the first tiger cage came into view. We continued heading in its direction when I finally decided to show Damon my appreciation. "Thanks for this. I really needed it." It wasn't much, but I figured it was better than nothing.

I felt Damon shrug through my hold as he nonchalantly responded, "Like I said, animals are every girl's weakness. It didn't take much thought really."

"And you would know," I said with a roll of my eyes. "But really, you don't give yourself enough credit. You put a good deal of thought into this and it means a lot."

Damon cocked his head to the side and replied, "Maybe I did just a bit, but let me ask you something." He lowered himself so that his eyes penetrated seductively into mine and asked, "Do you know what really makes girls weak in the knees?"

I rolled my eyes again at his continuous playboy demeanor and deadpanned, "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

We took the last steps to reach the side of the tiger cage as Damon announced in a girlishly heightened voice, "Baby animals."

I looked through the bars just in time to see a baby tiger curl up next to its mother in the cage. I sat in awe for a few moments with my mouth dangling open before I questioned, "How did you know?"

"It doesn't take long to find anything on the internet these days."

I continued to watch the tiger helplessly as I cooed, "Oh, Damon, it's adorable."

He lowered his head down to rest beside my ear and cooed, "I bet it would just make your world if you could run your hand through its fuzzy fur."

I knew Damon too well to miss the scheme he was already preparing and I felt the need to squash it immediately. "I don't want to touch the tiger."

Damon chuckled before he bent the bars of the cage and took a step inside, ignoring my opposition completely. From the outside I shouted as loud as I could while still maintaining my whisper voice, "Damon, stop it! Get back here right now!"

He continued moving towards the mother and baby tiger as his torso turned back in my direction. He then lifted his finger to his lips indicating he needed my absolute silence.

I scoffed and placed my arms across my chest as I watched the idiotic vampire make his way to the animals. Just when he reached down to grasp the baby, he disappeared and my eyes bugged out of my head as I stared at the gaping hole of the mammal's cage. There was nothing preventing that gigantic tiger from pouncing at me if it woke up, but instead of running like an intelligent human being, I just stood there like a moron.

My hands had just managed to fall and stiffen at my sides when I felt his ice cold breath on the nape of my neck. I turned around with full intention of telling him how unimpressive his little stunt had been, when my eyes latched onto the baby cradled in his arms.

Like a girl who had finally received the pony she had always wished for, my heart collapsed and I felt myself swooning under its contagious lovability. It was just so darn cute, all cradled in Damon's toned arms; that I involuntarily found my hand reach out to sweep across its feather-like fur.

I felt Damon's eyes watching me intently before he held the tiger out and suggested, "You can hold it if you want."

I snatched the tiger up like it was a million dollars and tightened my arms around it in a big squeeze. I nuzzled my face into its soft fur before I looked up at Damon. His light eyes were shining in pure adoration and I had never felt more grateful of someone's compassion in my entire life. I was just so impressed that I couldn't stop the words from spilling from my mouth, "You really know how to make a date memorable."

Before the shock of my slip-up managed to spread over my features, Damon cocked his head to the side and corrected, "This isn't a date. It's just an escape from reality that I knew would be more effective than that stupid book."

I figured that since he wasn't going to dwell on my slip-up then I sure as hell wasn't either. So I shot him one of my appreciative smiles, because I really did appreciate the effort he had put into coming up with this successful mental escape, and replied, "It _has_ been pretty effective."

He reached out and ran his hand across the top length of the tiger just close enough that the tips of his fingers slid against the fabric of my shirt. "If you want me to take you on a real date, all you have to do is ask," he teased although I could see that glimmer of hope in those god-like eyes of his.

I felt the moisture begin to develop in the palms of my hands and rubbed the tiger in an attempt to dry them off. I knew my jackhammering heart had already given away exactly how nervous his comment had made me, but I pretended it didn't exist and instead spoke a single word that I knew would get my point across, "Stefan."

I watched the momentary disappoint shadow his previously anticipating expression, before he composed himself with nonchalance I knew he was forcing, "I know, but at least we have our scheduled adventures now. And who knows, it might not always be Stefan," he stated with portraying eyes that suggested he understood the future progression of my own feelings better than myself.

I shook my head slowly to ensure that any hope rising within Damon diminished immediately because it was the proper thing to do. We were friends and should remain strictly that, I reminded myself.

Losing the strength to face him directly, my eyes fell to the tiger braced in my arms and I resisted the sigh fighting to escape from within. I had lost the bet and although we'd already been spending more than one day a week together since Stefan's disappearance, I couldn't disregard the idea that what Damon had in store for our weekly sessions held the possibility of wavering my feelings away from his brother and further in his direction.

I wasn't an idiot, so I knew these adventures would leave me treading in dangerously deep waters, but I was finding it incredibly difficult to ignore the portion of me insisting that giving up and sinking into the unknown didn't seem like the worst option anymore.

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><p><em><strong>Please read and review! :)<strong>_


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all of the support behind this story already! I really appreciate it and for those of you who have reviewed anonymously and I can't thank personally, here is a huge THANK YOU just for you!**

**Not much to say about this chapter, other than the tone has changed drastically. But then again, we're going to be steaming through time in this story so the tone is going to be changing quite often. Also, this is the length I am going to be aiming for in future chapters. Just short little blips of moments and definitely no more 5,000 word chapters like the last.**

_**Other than that, please enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>- November 22, 2011 -<strong>

As another wave of liquid spilled from my lips and into the awaiting pool of water, I tightened my grip around the porcelain sides of my toilet. My head was spinning and if Damon wasn't there holding my hair back, like the perfect gentleman he had proven himself to be, and keeping my body in an upright position I surely would have collapsed right into the bowl. My entire body was shaking and my strength bar felt like it was edging the very base between life and death.

Yeah, I was a fucking mess and this was most certainly not where I had intended to wind up at the end of the night; in a drunken stupor for sure, but not clinging for life around my toilet.

Up until today, things had actually started to improve in my life and I knew it was a result of Damon's insistent need to get me out of the house. Our weekly sessions had started off a bit rocky with a little more opposition than was necessary on my part, but after the first month I had actually found myself looking forward to them. And then one day I managed to drag my pathetic butt through the front door without Damon in tow. With that step beaten, I started revisiting the relationships I had found myself avoiding and I regained the ability to communicate without mentioning Stefan in every other sentence. I had become a normal functioning citizen again; albeit one with a damaged heart who broke down from time to time, but a normal citizen nonetheless.

Then all of that changed when I opened the letter waiting at home for me today with no return address in the upper left corner, but instead just a name – Katherine. Contained inside had been a note saying, 'Just thought you'd like to see what your boy toy's been up to,' and a single photo of the one person that, up until that moment, I had been dying to see. The photo had been snapped from a distance, leaving Stefan to fill only about 1/3rd of the frame, but there was no denying it was him. His figure was forever branded in my mind and in that shot it held a girl draped unconsciously over one arm with his fangs lodged in the skin of her neck. Blood was dripping down her side and splattered along his cheek revealing how carnal the attack had been. There were no remnants of the Stefan I had known and that one photograph shattered any previous success I had made in rebooting my life.

By the time Damon arrived that night for our weekly session, I had already released all of my tears and there had been no comforting moment. Only a moment of me informing him that our plans had changed and we were headed to the bar. He knew me better than I sometimes figured I knew myself, so after the second tequila shot, he forced me to come out with what had me so wound up. I gave it to him and after the very brief sense of relief flashed across his face over his brother's survival, he turned around and ordered four more shots.

That brought me and my sorry excuse for a stomach practically gift-wrapped around my own toilet. Thankfully, the worst appeared to be over, and it should have been because I had easily spilled out my water weight in alcohol. And after a wipe of my hand across my lips, I pushed myself back from the toilet and against the base of Damon's legs. My head was still swirling a bit, but I no longer felt drunk; just beaten down and angry.

I let Damon's legs absorb the brunt of my weight as I glared at the floor and groaned, "This is all her fault,"because this was her fault. Ignorance had been my biggest ally until this night, and I had been completely unaware of that fact until Katherine threw it in my face.

Damon's hand reached down and tucked a spare strand of my hair behind my ear before he reminded, "I think you were the one who ordered the eighth round of shots."

I merely groaned as I continued staring at the white squares that covered my bathroom floor. I guessed if we were being literal about it then yes, this was my fault, but none of this would have happened if the bitch had just left well enough alone.

He followed my groan with a low laugh and teased, "What happened to my superstar from Georgia, you used to handle your liquor so well."

That girl had disappeared with Stefan. And Damon knew that. He understood how fragile I was when it came to his brother and I needed his understanding comfort tonight, above anything else. So I leaned my head back enough so that I could look up in his direction and pleaded, "Don't do that tonight. I can't handle it; just give me you right now. Please."

He understood what I meant. I didn't want deflective Damon tonight, I wanted the real thing. The one who's strength was enough to keep us both afloat while my waves of emotion threatened to capsize our tiny raft. I just needed him to be there for me, again; the same way I knew he always would.

And he proved it as he leaned down and lifted my fragile frame from the tile floor before gently placing it onto my bed. I shifted a little so that he could take his proper spot next to me, the same spot that had now been marked as his from all of those earlier nights when I couldn't manage to leave the house. Funny how those nights seem almost uplifting considering the certain state I'd found myself in now.

With his head settled against the headboard and mine against the down feathers contained within my pillow, he reached for the remote. His finger was just about to lower onto the power button when I couldn't keep my thoughts contained any longer.

"He's never going to be the way he was again. Is he?" I proclaimed and asked simultaneously.

His remote hand hovered in the air and his eyes remained planted on the blank television screen as he questioned, "How do you want me to answer that?"

I knew exactly what he was asking me. Did I want him to sugar coat it or be honest. The fact that he even had to ask showed me that he understood exactly how frail I was right now. He had always been honest with me in the past, always would be. And although, a large part of me wanted him to lie and make this situation so much better than in currently was, I couldn't let him.

My relationship with Stefan had and would continue to tarnish my relationship with the brother beside me, but this was something I wouldn't let it tarnish. Honesty was what kept our relationship so solid and that was something that I'd never let someone else take away. So I shook my head and braced myself for the truth.

Damon's hand fell down onto the comforter and he released the remote before he turned to look at me. "I'm not sure," he confessed.

"I mean, he had that problem last year, but it wasn't this bad. You saw the picture and you've seen him this way before." I lifted my eyes to look up at him and asked, "Is he going to be able to come back from this?"

Damon hesitated a moment and the grief on his face was almost more than I could handle. "Elena, it took him years to obtain the control he had. Even if we do somehow find him, there's no saying what would happen."

"But there is still a possibility that when we find him we can fix this. We can bring Stefan back." I said the reassuring statement because one of us had to, although I knew it had really been just another question for the vampire beside me.

Damon smiled weakly back at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. "There's always a possibility, but I need you to understand how small it is. What you saw last year was nothing; simply a preview of what Stefan's capable of when the blood takes control."

I nodded my head in understanding because I knew the depths of this story and my mind momentarily drifted back to our conversation at the lake house; the one where Stefan had finally opened up to me about his past. It had been hard to listen to at the time, but I had ultimately gotten over it because what had been done was in the past. If only I had known that Stefan's past would come back to haunt me in real life, than maybe I would have taken his words with a little more weight.

"He still had at least some form of himself intact last year because we caught him too soon for him to fully surrender to the stuff," Damon continued on. He paused for a minute as if he was contemplating unleashing the full brunt of his opinion on me, before he added, "It may be too late at this point; we might not be able to help him. He may not even want to be helped."

Of course he didn't want to be helped or else he would have been back in this tiny town the day after he left. This time the blood had proven its reigning position in Stefan's importance chart; directly above everything else and certainly above me. I'd already known this, but until now I hadn't let myself truly absorb the reality of it.

My acceptance of Stefan's rejection hadn't been subtle. As a matter of fact, it unleashed a tidal wave of emotions coursing through my veins until they finally found their way through the sockets of my eyes. The warm liquid tumbled down my cheeks and within a second Damon's hands had found their way around my body and into the type of comforting embrace that only he could supply. These were the moments that I truly needed to pay him back for; the ones where he let me selfishly unravel over his brother while his love was practically leaking out for me.

I leaned the side of my head against his chest both for support and also for the chill his skin provided. It was soothing against my sweat drenched skin and I found it ironic how only 6 months ago we had been in reverse positions. I had tried to support him in those last moments of eternal life, but even then I had been the one crying.

It's sad how crying had become signature in my life when, for so long, I had insisted how strong I was. I had been so ready to sacrifice my life for these two brothers and everyone else I cared about, but apparently when it came to the two of them, I was just a silly girl crammed with more misunderstood emotions than I could deal with.

But right now I understood the exact emotion I was feeling most prominently, and that was rejection. So through gut wrenching sobs, I managed to get out, "I don't matter to him anymore."

Damon pulled me in tighter and rested the side of his cheek on top of my hair. Every part of me suddenly felt less sad with my body molded into his as Damon assured, "You know this isn't his fault. That person you saw in the picture wasn't Stefan and if it was, he'd be here. If he had the ability, he'd choose you over everything else."

I understood the double edge of his statement only too well and as the guilt crashed against my chest, I felt a new wave of tears start falling from my hazy eyes. Damon didn't know it, but this time they were for him; for the selfish way I continued to use him. They were for all of those times I insisted he be the better man and for all of those times he had been selfless with me although it went against the very nature of who he was.

I collapsed further into his holde and turned my face against his chest as I once again let everything out. He held onto me, absorbing every hurt emotion I let spill from my body and I could feel the proof of it against his saturated shirt.

His hand softly ran the length of my back as I trembled in his arms and I once again felt the power that came with being loved in such a way as Damon loved me. His love was commanding and dangerous, whereas Stefan's had been sweet and safe. He loved me with such an intensity that was almost blinding, but he had never forced it onto me although it felt like it sometimes. He'd only been there supporting me every time I needed him and I had drug him down with me into this emotional plummet so many times that he truly deserved better.

Unlike his brother, he was still here for me. And although he deserved so much more than what I was able to offer him, he at least deserved the chance of holding my heart. Of course he already had a piece of it, but he needed the chance to obtain the whole thing.

So instead of apologizing for so weakly falling to pieces in front of him_ again_, I decided that it was time to let go of the past because holding on was just too painful. I needed to let his brother go and offer Damon the chance he had proven he so rightfully deserved. And above all, I needed to stop being selfish with him.

So, as the last tear fell from the corner of my eye, I frantically wiped it away and lifted my face to meet Damon's. He was so close that I could see every detail that covered his features, but right now the only thing I could focus on was the sorrow in his eyes. The sorrow that came out whenever I was hurting because that's how linked his emotions were to mine.

I'm sure my puffy eyes and flushed cheeks were only making things worse, but I needed to face him when I got this conversation started. "But you're here, like you always are. You chose me," I said slowly.

He had to of known where I was headed with this because he constantly knew my next move even before I did, but he disregarded the sincerity of my statement and replied, "That's because I accepted the monster I was and didn't try fighting it for the past century and a half like my do-gooder of a brother."

Typical Damon. Whenever things started to get serious, he reverted back to this state and most of the time I would let him, but right now I couldn't. I wanted to assure him that he wasn't the monster he sometimes viewed himself as, but there was something more important that needed to be addressed.

His eyes were no longer on me and instead focused on the ceiling as I declared, "I want you to ask me on a real date."

Damon's eyes fell down to me and my heart stopped beating as his lips lowered in my direction. I closed my eyes expecting them to press against my own, when I felt the feathery contact against my forehead. They lingered on my skin before he slowly pulled away revealing the saddest smile I could have ever envisioned. That ridiculous sadness crept all the way to dull the radiance of his blue eyes as he replied, "You can't make that request tonight."

I hadn't expected that reaction, but I understood it. It hadn't been appropriate for me to ask him with the vibrations of Stefan's name still tingling my lips. So I let me eyes fall, because I couldn't bear to witness that sadness any longer, and apologized, "I'm sorry. You've just been there for me and I know that you've waited for this."

His hand swept across the top of my head, easing the tension of the moment away, before it landed underneath of my chin. He lifted my face to meet his and I noticed the sadness had been replaced by a sense of understanding. That same empathy made its way into his voice as he replied, "And I'll keep waiting until you're really ready to ask me."

He was just so beautiful, even with that understanding sadness shadowing his splendor, that I wondered why it was so difficult to remove the firm grip Stefan had on my heart. It didn't seem fair that I was still so deeply invested in the lost brother when the perfect one was staring me directly in the face.

And although my mind was wondering if I would ever be able to fully cut the emotional ties of my past relationship with Stefan to reciprocate the love Damon deserved, I responded, "I'll try not to make you wait too long," and settled my head back against his chest.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

**I've had a few people ask about the spell and I just wanted to clarify in case anyone else was confused on the matter. I know I kind of threw it at you quickly in the end of the first chapter, so I figured it might help if I re-explained a bit. Every chapter of this story, except the first and very last, is going to be a future memory down Elena's currently set timeline. Present Elena is living them out exactly like her future self would be. She doesn't have any control over what she says or how she reacts and she doesn't have any outside emotions other than the ones her future self has. She knows what has happened in between moments since she**_** is **_**her future self during the process, but the spell is picking out certain moments to magnify. And when she gets back to present time at the end of the story, she'll have the opportunity to change this particular path of her future if she wants to. Hopefully, I cleared up any remaining confusion, but definitely feel free to pm me or whatever if you still have questions.**

**Also, I was lazy this time around and only proof-read the chapter once, so I'm sorry in advance for the remaining typos and mistakes.**

_**Other than that, enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>- June 9, 2012 -<strong>

I walked down the pier with my arms crossed over my chest. They were held this way more out of familiarity than anything else, considering it wasn't exactly cold outside. It was actually a blistering hot 97 degrees, which felt much worse considering the normal temperature average in Virginia this time of year typically hovered in the low 80s. We we're experiencing one of those crazy heat waves that so rarely occurred here, so when Jeremy suggested we head to the lake house for the weekend I had gladly supported the idea.

With college right around the corner, I figured I needed to cherish these last getaways with my friends before they all headed up north for the school year leaving me behind. I hadn't exactly chosen _not_ to go to college, but rather forgot about the pile of applications I had stashed in my top dresser drawer. With everything that had been going on, it was just too difficult to write the eight essays on why I was a better applicant than say Bettie Richardson. Because honestly; at that time, I hadn't been a better candidate. I had been a fucking train wreck. So the applications were slipped into that drawer and the back of my mind until Caroline shrieked that she had been accepted into the liberal arts program at NYC.

By that time, all of the submission deadlines had passed leaving me only one option; Mystic Falls Community College. It didn't bother me really since Jeremy still had one year of school left, Ric wasn't going anywhere, and Damon would be here. But I still felt like I was being left behind while everyone else moved on with their lives. It wasn't a terrible feeling, just a bit of a nagging sensation; one that had started to grow when the chatter of excited futures erupted in the house.

So I came out here into the hot muggy air to escape, because this pier always had a way of calming my nerves when I was growing up. And it was proving its effectiveness tonight. The water was a dark sheet of glass, but every so often a light breeze would blow causing it to move just slightly enough for the top to twinkle, mimicking the vision of a billion black diamonds. It was one of those images that appeared on the front of postcards and I was lucky enough to be witnessing it first-hand. It was breathtaking and I had no fighting chance of resisting my smile against its aesthetic power.

That smile only widened when I heard the familiar footsteps behind me. Without turning around, I already knew who was encroaching on my personal moment and I didn't mind a bit.

"Please tell me you haven't already checked out for the night. We were having so much fun in there." Damon muttered sarcastically, although I knew it was just a front. He would never admit it, but those people in there were important to him; not nearly as important as I was, but important. And the way his pure laughs had filled the air, revealed how much enjoyment he gained from spending time with them.

The reverse of this stood true as well. That's right; Damon had solidified his spot in our group. My friend's skepticism towards his intentions had been replaced months ago by an acceptance of who he was. And as much as I'm sure it pained him to admit it, he loved every minute of the approval. But I decided not to call him out and instead replied, "I just wanted to enjoy some fresh air."

He settled beside me and said, "Nothing like leaving the comfort of air conditioning to experience the full brunt of the tropics."

I bumped my shoulder lightly against his and countered, "Oh shut up. You didn't have to come out and it's not like the heat has any effect on you anyways." It was true; he was the only one dressed in a long-sleeved button down shirt and jeans without a hint of sweat glistening over his skin, whereas the rest of us were in tank-tops and shorts completely drenched in our own perspiration.

"But you we're out here and apparently it's having quite the effect on you." He lifted his hand to slide the pad of his thumb down my cheekbone and wiped a drop of sweat from my skin, leaving an icy burn along the line of contact. He then motioned his head toward the water and suggested, "If you're too hot we could always jump in."

I glanced at the twinkling sea of diamonds and realized how inviting the option was, before I turned back to him and countered, "Tempting, but my bathing suits all the way upstairs."

He then shot me his signature smirk and lifted his brows before suggesting, "There's always the option of skinny dipping."

I rolled my eyes because I should have expected this sort of idea from him. We were incredible friends with the potential for so much more, but I hadn't even asked him on a proper date yet. Stefan still occupied my thoughts from time to time, and although the gaping hole in my chest had been filled, I was still waiting for that proper moment when I knew I was fully ready to ask. I figured that step needed to be tackled first, and eventually it would, before I skipped ahead to the getting naked in front of each other step.

So instead of allowing the moment to get uncomfortable, I kept up the playful attitude and teased, "And I'm sure you'd love that wouldn't you."

The smirk disappeared leaving a faux seriousness as he explained, "This isn't for my benefit, Elena. I'm just worried about you overheating; that's all."

He followed the statement with a conniving chuckle, when Caroline's excited voice sounded from the back of the house. "Did someone mention skinny dipping?"

I couldn't stop my laugh, but I offset it by smacking Damon across the chest because he knew this was how his plan would pan out. I hadn't known Caroline was sitting on the back deck with Tyler, but obviously Damon's sensitive ears had. And with the amount of alcohol Caroline had consumed throughout the evening, any excuse was good enough for her clothes to come off.

The pair was already making their way towards us on the pier, when I started waving my hands dismissively through the air. "No, no. You heard us wrong. We will_ not_ be skinny dipping."

"Yes we will," Damon chimed in beside me.

I turned on him, fire ablaze behind my chocolate eyes and argued, "No we won't! Unlike the rest of you, I don't see the enticement of parading around in the nude with my best friends, especially not my brother."

"You don't have to worry about Jeremy; he got sick after the last round of quarters. Bonnie's upstairs taking care of him now," Caroline explained as she settled beside me. She then pushed her lips into a pout and begged, "C'mon, Elena, live a little," before stripping down in front of my very eyes and jumping into the water.

With my eyes practically bugging out of their sockets, Tyler shot me an apologetic smile and said, "For your benefit, I'll wait to undress in the water." He then dove in as his shorts spat back out onto the deck.

I wasn't mad at Damon. It certainly hadn't been the first time I'd seen Caroline unclothed and the water was concealing all of Tyler's nasty bits, but I couldn't miss the prime opportunity to rub his failed attempt at getting me naked in his face. So, I jabbed my finger into his chest and accused, "You're ridiculous and you failed."

Damon's eyes rolled against his top lids before he cocked his head to the side and replied, "I'm only ridiculous to keep things interesting around here, and the nights not over yet."

He was certainly right about the first, but definitely not the second. The night was still young, yes, but there was nothing that would possibly drive me to strip down in front of him. But for the sake of giving him some form of hope to hold onto, I decided not to challenge his assumption and instead suggested, "Just because I'm not partaking in the fun doesn't mean you can't."

Damon looked out into the water and scrunched up his nose in disgust. "Getting naked with Barbie again isn't exactly at the top of my to-do list. I've been there, done that; not really impressed. And I'm not exactly dying to dangle uglies with her lap dog either."

"Fuck you, Damon! At least you had a choice in the matter!" Caroline screamed from the water.

Damon laughed beside me and shouted back, "Don't pretend like it wasn't worth your while, Caroline. I rocked your little human world and you know it."

"Don't flatter yourself," her voiced called back.

These moments occurred often between the two of them. It was always playful bickering and I had honestly become immune to the fact that Caroline and Damon had slept together. It was a long time ago, but that doesn't mean that I still enjoyed being reminded of the fact. So instead of listening to their meaningless back and forth, I picked my phone from my pocket and decided to play around on Facebook until they were finished.

I never got there because as my phone illuminated, my text message icon showed that I had an unread text. I clicked on the icon and saw that it was from Ric saying, "Your laptop arrived today. I put it on your bed. NICE CHOICE BTW!"

After my impulsive cringe at Ric's attempt of youthful texting behavior, I narrowed my eyes at the text. I hadn't ordered a laptop, although I should have. Mine was practically prehistoric and the keys often got stuck, but it still operated for the most part.

I shook my head back and forth and started typing a response when Damon noticed my puzzled expression. "What's wrong?" he asked; voice laced with the genuine concern I had become all too familiar hearing from him.

"Nothing like that," I dismissed before explaining further. "There's just been a mix up at home. A computer was delivered to me by accident, that's all."

Damon groaned at my response and I immediately stopped the progression of my fingers to look at him. He was wearing his irritated face, but I didn't understand why. All I had to do was ship the laptop back to the manufacturer and everything would be alright. It seriously wasn't a big deal.

He rubbed his temples with his fingers before he admitted, "It wasn't a mistake." He then let out an irritated huff before he chastised, "Leave it to Apple to ship a product early for the first time in their companies' existence."

Confusion had made its way to my expression when I questioned, "What are you talking about? I didn't order a computer."

He turned to look at me and confessed, "I know you didn't, but I did. It was supposed to arrive Monday when you got back."

"You bought me a laptop?" I asked, dumbfounded over the gesture. It was sweet, but completely unnecessary.

"It was supposed to be a big surprise, but I guess now is as good a time as any." He paused for a moment and I was very well aware of the silence that came from Caroline and Tyler's sudden interest in our conversation, but the only thing I could focus on was the crystalline blue of Damon's eyes.

He shrugged his shoulder and explained, "I figured you'd need one that actually worked when you went off to Columbia in the fall."

I held up my hand and asked in a high pitched voice, "Hold on a minute, did you just say Columbia?" I shook my head through the thick air and argued, "I never applied to Columbia." Of course I'd wanted to. It had always been one of my dream schools, but its application was buried in my drawer along with the others I failed to submit and my grades were nowhere high enough for acceptance anyway.

"I know you didn't," he simply responded.

I threw both of my hands into the air because I was quickly losing my patience, and asked, "Then how did I get in?"

He cocked his head to the side, shot me a wicked smile, and toyed with me once again. "Well, I didn't forge your application if that's what you're asking."

"But if you didn't, then how…" I let my sentence drop midway as understanding began making its way through my thought process. I was still putting the pieces together when Damon completed the puzzle for me.

"If you have to ask that question, than you're seriously not smart enough to be attending." He rolled his eyes before he continued, "Come on, Elena, you've been in this world long enough to understand what I'm capable of. All it took was a nice chat with the head of admissions to have her falling all over herself ready to welcome you personally into the writing program."

I should have been thanking him and I was fully aware that I hadn't yet, but a more important topic needed to be addressed. "How did you know that I like to write?"

Damon shrugged his shoulders and explained, "My brother and I _did_ talk from time to time. Occasionally, you were the topic of interest."

Miraculously, the mention of Stefan had no effect on me. However, the challenge of writing again had my pulse accelerating to an ungodly speed. "But I haven't written anything since before my parents died. I wouldn't even know how to pick it back up again."

Damon nonchalantly lifted his hand into the air and countered, "I'm sure you've seen enough in the past two years to give you a spark of inspiration. If anything, you'll soar above everyone else in the creative writing category."

"And we'll only be a twenty minute cab drive away from each other! Isn't it exciting, Elena?" Caroline interrupted from her position twenty yards away in the water.

Damon rolled his eyes at the blonde's intrusion and muttered, "Yeah, they've known for a few weeks now."

It was all just so much to take in. A few minutes ago, I had been convincing myself that community college was an alright life choice and now I was headed to Columbia. I should have been surging with undiluted joy, but all I could think about were the reason's I shouldn't go.

Continuing my thought process out loud, I deflected Caroline's excited tizzy and glared back at Damon. "But what about Jeremy? With Bonnie headed off to Berkeley, he's going to be left by himself."

"I've already talked to him about it. He's behind this 100%, which you, apparently, are not." His words slowed towards the end and his eyes seemed to have lost their enthusiastic glow.

I should have flinched at Damon's observation. He had put a lot of effort into this for me and I was throwing it back into his face, but I couldn't stop the words from spilling out. "And Ric?"

"Is a grown man who can take care of himself," Damon finished with a roll of his eyes.

"And you?" The words came out unexpectedly and as they did, I realized they were the most important.

That question seemed to have brought the vampire back to life. His eyes squinted as his lips lifted into a conniving grin and he answered, "You didn't think I'd let you go off to the big apple on your own did you? I'm coming with you of course."

I should have expected the answer, but it somehow managed to rocket through my limbs, sending a feeling of elation pumping blood through all of my extremities. "You're attending Columbia with me?"

"Hell no," he spat out and I immediately felt my facial features fall. But as they did, his hand lifted and cupped the side of my cheek before he explained, "I've already earned enough degrees to cover an entire wall of the boarding house. I'm coming along to act as your bad influence and make sure you experience what college is _really_ about."

"But…" I started to get out before he shook his head and interrupted me.

Damon obviously had no idea that I was only going to argue how much of a _positive_ influence he had become and not my attendance to the school of my dreams, because he refuted, "No more buts, Elena. You're attending Columbia. Your annoying girlfriends will be a few blocks away. Your brother and Ric will be just fine back here. Tyler will be, well I'm not sure what the wolf's doing next year, but does it really matter? And I'll be right next door making sure you enjoy and only partially remember every minute of it."

I was very aware that my cheek was still relaxed against the palm of his hand. Not only because the cool contact was refreshing in this weather, but also because tiny sparks of electricity had begun to ignite from the area. They had started making their way to other sections of my body, when I reached my hand to rest on top of his. "You promise to be there through everything?"

"I promise." The sides of his lips lifted into a satisfied smirk as he teased, "Especially when you embrace that all-important slut phase all college girls go through."

I pulled back and punched him in the shoulder. My eyes narrowed and I pretended to be offended as I accused, "I knew there was something in this for you."

The cocky expression disappeared only to be replaced by a teasing sense of honesty. "I know it may be hard to believe that I would do anything solely for the benefit of anyone but myself, but there you are. And apparently when it comes to you, that crazy giddy smile of yours…" His index finger reached out to tap the previously un-noticed upward curve of my lips as he continued, "Yeah that one right there, is all the reimbursement I need."

I'm not sure if it was the heat of the moment or the sincerity of his confession. I'm not sure if it was the way the moon illuminated the radiance of his blue eyes or how the slight curl made his lips fuller than I could have ever thought possible. I wasn't sure if it was the perfection of his features or the intoxicating way his aroma pulled me under. I wasn't even sure if it was the way my heart faltered when I considered everything he had given up or done for me in the past. All I knew was that I was ready.

This was the moment I had been waiting for. I was ready for Damon; for all of him. So, I took his hand, lacing my fingers between each one of his, and smiled up at him. I didn't care that Caroline and Tyler were probably watching every second of this soon to be memorable and intimate moment because all I could concentrate on was him. Every inch of my skin was vibrating in sweet anticipation as I began, "Thank you; not just for this, but for everything."

His lips moved ever so subtly and I lifted my spare hand to place a finger on top them. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as I continued, "You waited around for me for so long, even though I've given you no reason to. You never lost faith in me, Damon, and you've always supported me. I will never be able to thank you enough for everything you've done, but there _is_ one more thing that I need you to do."

The look he gave me clearly stated that he would do anything for me. Hell, if I asked him to take his ring off and erupt under rays of sunlight, he probably would. But as his eyebrows edged up towards his hairline, urging me to continue on, I had no intention of making this brother suffer for me anymore. I had every intention of proving to him that I was worth every bit of crap I drug him through and every second he waited around helplessly for me. It was time for me to start proving that I was worthy and could eventually reciprocate the type of love he bled out for me.

So, I settled my lips into an adoring smile and asked, "I need you to take me on a real date."

The relieved smirk that lifted one side of his lips upward was almost enough to send my heart into cardiac arrest. As his hand reached up to cup the side of my face, he did his signature eye thing and asked, "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

I wasn't sure if anyone was ever ready to give themselves over the way Damon had with me, but there were no clouds of doubt shadowing the moment, only possibilities illuminating our potential future. I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and pulled him close enough for my breath to sweep across his lips and whispered, "Absolutely," before pressing them against my own.

I'd felt Damon's lips on mine before; twice, actually. One time they had been his pressing against my non-responsive ones and the second time had been the exact opposite. But those two instances had done nothing to prepare me for how it actually felt to have both sets moving in perfect unison with one another. The action was remarkably unflawed, almost as if we could sense the others motion before it happened, and it resulted in the most satisfying kiss I had ever received.

When Caroline's supportive shrieks and hollers became our background music, I painfully pulled my lips back from his. There had been no tongue involved in the most satisfying kiss of my life and my lips immediately tingled in desperate need for more. I bit my lower lip, begging it to obtain some patience, and opened my eyes to Damon.

His face reflected exactly what I was feeling and I resisted every urge to lead him to my bedroom, when a brilliant idea came to mind. I lowered my lids and inched my face to rest beside his as I whispered, "I'm actually ready for something else."

"And what is that," he whispered in response.

I pulled my face back and slowly started to remove my articles of clothing. I felt an extremely satisfying sense of power as Damon's eyes went wide; both in startling disbelief and amazement. He practically drank me in and I probably should have felt embarrassed with his eyes ogling my body the way they were, but we both knew it was only a matter of time before he was exploring it anyway with his hands.

As my lacy underwear slid down my legs, I took a step out and quickly leaned into him. My lips pressed against his for the tiniest second, because the temptation was just too much, before I pulled away and declared, "I'm ready to get a head start on embracing my inner slut!" and jumped into the dark water.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I know that I've already said this, but it needs to be said again... Thank you so much for the interest and feedback for this story. Your reviews are seriously what motivate me to keep writing and I couldn't appreciate it more. And to those of you I wasn't able to respond personally to, here's a big THANKS again just for you! :)**_

**Alright, I must warn you, I'm not 100% happy with this chapter. I have played around and tweak it so many times that I really feel like I'm losing my mind. And, at this point, I just don't want to read it anymore. So I decided to post it in hopes that it's only me being crazy over my own work. If it's not, I apologize.**

_**Please Enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>- September 14, 2012 -<strong>

It just didn't make sense. I had been in this city for a total of six hours. No time to gain any sort of bearings, no time to relax, just enough time for Damon to quickly unload my belongings into the oversized apartment he'd rented out for me and head out into the night. I'd had absolutely no time to adjust before being thrown to the wolves and to say I was a little overwhelmed was an incredible understatement.

I know it sounds monotonous, but I'd actually been looking forward to a quiet night with plenty of time to Skype with Jeremy and Ric back home. And although my apartment was all in order thanks to Damon's impeccable speed, I still wanted to add my finishing touches and arrange things my way. I had really wanted to get settled, enjoy my new place for an evening, and maybe crack a book in the process since school started in only three days.

But that plan had faded as soon as Damon heard Caroline's suggestion during our phone conversation earlier. For the most part, I loved the perks that came with having a vampire as my boyfriend, but this was certainly not one of those instances. And after a bit of bickering back and forth, Damon had ultimately gotten his way and that was how we ended up here; waiting for Caroline and Bonnie to join us on this ridiculous charade. Needless to say, I was not enthusiastic about it.

"Was it really necessary to bring me to an underground club my first night in New York?" I shouted at Damon above the hypnotic beats of whatever techno song was blasting from the sound system.

Damon flinched at my heightened voice and screamed back, "You don't have to shout in my face, Elena. I'd hear a whisper from you, no problem." He then took our drinks from the bartender and handed one to me before he added, "And it was definitely necessary bringing you here. You're in New York City for god's sake and I'm playing my part in being your bad influence."

I took a quick sip of my hot pink concoction and searched the swaying crowd of people on the dance floor for my girlfriends. I had to admit that it tasted delicious and the way it illuminated under the black lights really was impressive, but the drink's appeal did little to lessen my disdain for our current location.

I squinted my eyes as a strobe light swept across my line of vision, nearly blinding me, and refuted, "But couldn't your bad influence have waited just one more day until I got acquainted with the city first? I don't even know how to get back to the apartment."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I do," Damon replied before his arm slid around the back of my waist. _That_ managed to lift my spirits and I felt my mood rise slightly as he led me through the grinding sea of people to the back of the club.

That simple touch from him was all I needed to fully understand why I hated being here so passionately. It wasn't about the filth, or the annoying music, or the sweat drenched people sliding against my arms; it was because I wasn't alone with him. I'll admit, we'd been together a total of three months and my cravings should have died down by now, but I was still fresh in that new relationship stage and my hunger for him wasn't nearly satisfied. I had really been looking forward to our first night together in the big apple, and I realized that maybe we wouldn't have been here if I had just told him that in the first place.

So as we settled against the back wall, I peered up at him with the best doe eyes I could produce and reasoned, "I was just kind of hoping tonight would be the two of us you know. Cozying up on the couch together, romantic dinner, maybe some wine… christening my new apartment," I said, elongating the last line for perfect emphasis on what I was really insinuating.

His hand reached up to grip the back of my neck and, even with the bass banging against my eardrums, his guttural growl was unmistakable. He leaned forward and pressed his lips into mine, sending shock waves to all of the important regions of my body, before he pulled away.

With his hand still latched onto my neck and our mouths close enough to inhale the others exhale, Damon insisted, "There is nothing I want more than to take you back to the apartment right now." His voice had dropped a few octaves and I could practically sense how much he meant the statement, when his face softened and he continued, "I just figured you'd want to spend your first night drinking the city in with your chick posse' all _Sex and the City_ style."

I hadn't missed his mockery of my favorite television show, but I decided to ignore it. I'd gotten used to Damon's pushy way of forcing me to do things I wasn't aware I wanted to do; like coming to this nightclub to spend time with Caroline and Bonnie for instance. He always had my best interest in mind and most of the time I ended up thanking him for the experiences later. And I knew it was just another way of him proving how selfless he was when it came to me because this was obviously not the night he had in mind, but despite how tempting the idea of spending time with my girlfriends was, all I really wanted was time alone with him.

Knowing he wanted the exact same thing, I lowered my lids and pressed myself against his front as I leaned to whisper in his ear, "Then you thought wrong. What I want most is to go home and drink you in instead."

I felt the slight pull of air as Damon inhaled the scent supplied from the crook of my neck and knew I had him where I wanted him. His spare hand slid down the side of my body and gripped onto the fabric of my satin dress. As his grasp tightened, his head snapped back so that I could see the carnal hunger in those celestial eyes of his. His hand then latched onto my wrist, spinning me around before I knew what was happening, and we were headed towards the exit. "Screw it. You can call them on the way home and tell them you've changed your mind."

"Changed your mind about what?" Caroline chimed in as she and Bonnie emerged from the mass of sweaty people just in time to ruin any chance of our smooth getaway.

I shot a quick peek at Damon, only to see his eyes disappear underneath his eyelids in disappointment, and answered, "That we're going to head out. I'm not really up for all of this on my first night."

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "C'mon, Elena. We're in New York freaking City and it's time to embrace the long lost you." She lifted her brows at me and pushed, "You know the one I'm talking about."

Of course I knew the one she was referring to; the one she had been pushing me to retain ever since the Salvatore brothers came into my life. She wanted the version of me that drank until the sun came up and danced on the top of bars until it did. Unfortunately, that girl didn't exist anymore, so I held up my hand and reasoned, "That's exactly it though; that girl disappeared a long time ago."

"And made reappearance at the lake house." Caroline added. "She's not as gone as you claim she is."

"I blame that on temporary insanity," I argued as Bonnie jumped in to tag team me.

"It's only fair that if I have to dance in that sea of disgusting people, then so do you," she stated, voice laced with disdain, as her eyes began scanning the crowd. The look on her face clearly displayed she viewed them as a contagious virus she wasn't excited about catching.

"For being such tiny things, you sure are pushy," Damon commented from beside me.

Caroline shot him a heated look and argued, "You live in apartments right next to each other." Her expression softened a bit as her eyes drifted between the two of us. "I know what you both want because god knows I'd be doing the same thing if Tyler wasn't three states away, but you'll have plenty of opportunities for that later. Tonight is one of our last nights to let loose before becoming lame ass college students, so let's make it happen."

Seeing that I had been defeated, I looked up to Damon for some reassurance that staying was alright. I had managed to get him all hot and bothered just moments before and was now forcing him to wait around. I felt terrible, but the understanding smile he shot me was more than enough reassurance I needed.

After another quick eye roll, Damon masked his disappointment with a smirk and said, "You girls go ahead and start getting get your freak on. I'll head to the bar for a round of drinks and be over in a minute."

Caroline let out an excited 'yippee' and grabbed onto my wrist, ripping me away from Damon. I took one last sip of my drink, finishing it off, and pulled free of her grip. I handed my empty glass to Damon and whispered, "Thank you. I promise to make it up to you later."

"I heard that, you hussy!" Caroline shouted and I could resist laughing against Damon's chest.

I then leaned up to kiss him on the cheek and made my way back to the girls. We had just reached the edge of the crowd when he shouted, "Just try not to catch any STDs while you're out there gyrating," and headed for the bar.

His comment had obviously been a joke, but as we made our way through the mess of tightly packed people, I couldn't help but consider the possibility of it. My previously untapped inner health freak had started to take over when Caroline took my arm and whirled me around. As I finished the turn, my head continued the motion a split second too long and I realized how strong my first drink had been. And that could have very possibly been the reason my hips started to sway to the rhythm of the music the way they had.

Those annoying beats magically sounded much more appealing and I wound my body down to the floor, completely absorbed in the music. Caroline and Bonnie mimicked my actions and within minutes we were feeling like rock stars; hair whipping around and badass dance faces intact.

Perhaps it was a result of the tiny buzz that had managed to sneak up on me, but I didn't notice the random guy creep up behind me until his pelvis started pulverizing my back side. Feeling uncomfortable, I shot my girls a vulgar expression only to have Caroline return it with a giggle and Bonnie mimic it back.

Since I'd received no help from either one of them, it appeared I would have to handle this one on my own. I turned around, fully prepared to tell the guy to back off, when his lips latched onto mine. His tongue forced its way into my mouth and all I could taste was a disgusting mixture of alcohol and peanuts. It took nearly all of my resisting will to keep from throwing up into the guy's mouth, but the remainder went towards my attempts of pushing him off of me.

It felt like his lips had been inhaling mine for decades, but I'm sure in reality it had only been a matter of seconds before the guy was ripped from my side. I opened my eyes ready to see Caroline, in all of her Supergirl glory holding onto the man, when my heartbeat stopped abruptly in my chest.

Damon had the stranger around the neck, drinks dropped across the floor, and he was seething anger. I was honestly shocked those black veins hadn't streaked across his face yet, because there was enough heat behind those blue eyes to melt an ice block. But just when I had prepared myself to jump in and calm Damon down, his face softened and he seemed to have miraculously regained control on his own.

I let out a sigh of relief and figured the heated moment had passed when the random guy spit in Damon's face and stupidly shouted, "Who the fuck do you think you are, dude?"

I closed my eyes and sighed, already knowing what was going to happen next, when I heard Damon threaten, "That was the wrong move, _dude_, because I just became your worst fucking nightmare."

My eyes opened just in time to see Damon punch the guy in the face. He swirled around, clearly disoriented, and started to fall to the ground when another guy slammed against my back side. My forehead smashed against the cement floor and I faintly heard the crack of a fist, probably Damon's, against another jaw before his hands were on me.

He picked me up into his arms and the look on his face was enough for me to understand the state of my own. Plus, I could already feel the warm liquid streaming down my forehead and into my eyes, blurring my vision.

"Let me get you to a bathroom," Damon softly suggested, apprehension etched over his features, when another stranger charged into us. Damon deflected him easily with his foot, but three more had already started making their way towards us.

"Caroline, handle this," he ordered, and instantly she was standing between us and the approaching pack of disgruntled college guys.

With our femme fatale in place and ready to kick some ass, Damon stream lined towards the bathroom. He pushed through the door with his back and set me on top of the counter in one swift motion. Although I was already beginning to feel light-headed, the only thing I seemed worried about was the physical state of my face. So I turned around to glance at my appearance only to notice the huge gash across the top right of forehead.

The wound was easily an inch long supplying an endless source of free-flowing blood streaming down the side of my face and I groaned at the image. Amazingly, it didn't hurt too badly, but that didn't stop Damon from piercing into his wrist and shoving it towards my face.

I turned my head to the side as his wrist inched closer to my mouth and objected, "I don't need it, Damon." I knew it would help, but the last time I'd drank Damon's blood was exactly an enjoyable experience and I wasn't excited about reliving it.

He hissed and snatched my head in between his hands, forcing me to look him directly in the eyes. The hold was incredibly gentle, considering how fast the action had been, as he inched his face forward and pleaded, "Don't be stupid, Elena. No one's killing you tonight, so it won't hurt to take the blood."

"But I don't want it," I objected, acting exactly like a spoiled toddler, as his eyes began to transition into onyx gems.

"Just take it!" he demanded, forcing the veins to lash from the edges of his eyes.

I knew what was happening. He hadn't drank anything in two days since he had been so busy packing and unpacking my things. But just to make sure my assumption was correct, I eyed him nervously and asked, "Are you angry at me or just hungry?"

He shook his head back and forth and rolled his eyes at my question. "You're being your typical stubborn self and a guy just had his tongue down your throat; of course I'm angry," he spat back, but there wasn't heat behind the words.

In an attempt to calm him down, I lifted my hand to touch the bottom of his chin and proclaimed, "I'm proud of the way you handled yourself back there. And I have to admit, it _was_ pretty hot seeing you defend my honor."

He smiled back at me, but it quickly became shadowed by his determination. "You know I always will, but stop delaying. Drink the blood so we can get back out there and make sure Caroline doesn't take the whole place down."

I knew I needed his blood before the slash on my forehead caused any more problems, but it didn't feel right taking from Damon when his supply was already dwindling so low. So I shook my head dismissively and objected, "But you're hungry. It'll only make things worse for you if I do."

He wasn't having any of it tonight. His black eyes penetrated into me as he heatedly insisted, "Stop making observations and just drink before you pass out on the counter."

Damon had drank from me before; once, so had his brother for that matter, and none of the times had been pleasant. I wasn't thrilled about my next move, but I understood it needed to be made to ensure the state of both our physical welfares. So I masked my face with as much resolve as I could muster up and declared, "I'll only drink if you do."

I could tell that he was irritated, but he did a good job of containing it. After a disappointed scoff, he let his hands fall from my face and they latched onto each side of the counter around me. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"Why are you?" I shot back with a smug expression on my face.

Damon let out an unnecessary breath of air, and surrendered, "Fine. Drink up," before he grabbed my wrist and lifted his up to my face.

He waited for me to swallow my first gulp before he delicately pierced through the skin on my wrist. This was the third time Damon's blood had ever flowed down my throat, but willing accepting it supplied the liquid with much more of an exquisite taste than I had remembered. Before, all I could taste was the flavor of pennies and a hint of oranges, but this time, my taste buds were attacked with a zillion different tangs and zests. They all meshed together perfectly, offering my mouth its own sense of gratification, while my body absorbed the pleasure Damon's bite supplied.

He pulled the liquid from my bloodstream in time with my own pull and immediately I felt the exhilaration that came from sharing. His blood coursed through my veins delivering me with a sense of elation that only managed to fuel the arousal his bite was supplying. As we both took another swallow, tingles shot all the way through the tips of my toes and I latched my legs around Damon's waist, forcing his front against my center.

I could already feel the heat waves surging through my body as Damon wrapped his free arm around my back and started sliding against me. As his hard length ran its way over my sensitive areas, I released my suction on his wrist and clasped onto his back. My fingers tightened around the fabric folds of his shirt and I clung to it for support as I embraced my building surge of stimulation.

A pleasure-filled moan escaped from my lips as my legs began to tremble against his back. He then took one last sip, and I felt myself crash over that blissful edge, sending me to that ultimate state of euphoria. I rode each wave the explosion supplied before my body finally collapsed against his.

With my head resting against the crook of his neck, and Damon's fangs still lodged in the tight skin of my wrist, I fought to steady my breathing, and managed to get out, "Well that was certainly a new experience." Because it had been. I had never expected my body to react the way it had to Damon's blood or his bite considering how un-enjoyable the other times had been. But it truly had been a riveting and mind-blowing experience.

My shock seemed to have come as no surprise to Damon. I felt him gently removed his fangs from my wrist before he lifted his face and shot me a cocky smirk. "That's because I didn't force it on you this time. And when Stefan drank from you, it was only baby sips; nothing release-worthy."

I wasn't nearly finished discussing the matter, but before I had time to comment further, he raised his hand to push the hair out of my face and ran his fingers across my forehead. After inspecting the previous cut, he placed a light kiss on the spot and informed, "All healed."

I really should have been more relieved over my own physical welfare, but all I could focus on was how satisfied my body felt, how Damon's blood and his bite had done this to me, and how stunning he appeared. He was just too sexy with that revived glow gleaming from his porcelain skin that I had to lean in and press my lips against his.

Damon's lips responded by molding against mine in the perfect way that only he could manage. His tongue had found its way into my mouth to sweep across my own and I hardly noticed the copper taste of my blood still lingering inside; he was just that good.

Our tongues continued their dance and his hand had just latched up to tangle his fingers in the base strands of my hair, when I finally pulled back and asked, "Since I had an orgasm, does this count as having sex in a public bathroom?"

He replied with an amused chuckle and answered, "Not quite, but if you're up for it…" He let his voice trail off as his eyebrows lifted enticingly.

As alluring as the idea sounded, the repulsive state of the bathroom offset it just the same. Ultimately, the filthy conditions won out, so I rolled my eyes at him and responded, "I think I've had enough of your bad influence for one night," before I reached over and grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser.

I heard him mutter, "It was worth a shot," as I rotated around and started cleaning my forehead. I was nearly finished when I noticed the disappointment in Damon's reflection. He was doing his best to hide it, but he had no chance of fooling me with his typical composed exterior.

I wiped the area one last time and threw the paper towel into the trash can. I then turned back to face him and lifted my hand to stroke the side of his cheek. With my best adorable smile plastered across my lips, I clarified, "But we can definitely pick this back up in the bedroom once Caroline lets us leave."

That little promise was all Damon needed for the disappointment to drain from his expression and his signature smirk to slide back in place. "You're lucky you know that? You're the only one I'd wait for," he teased.

"I do," I chimed back with a little giggle. "That's why I always make it worth the wait."

"Yes, you do," he agreed, before he licked the tip of this thumb and wiped it over my skin, removing the last bits of blood. "Now, let's get back out there so you can give me a preview of tonight's events."

He then grabbed me around the waist and his body tensed as he prepared to lift me into the air, when I couldn't resist asking the question any longer. "So, it can really be like that every time; the blood sharing?" I questioned in disbelief.

"It doesn't have to be both. Either one will still give you the same results. But, yes, it will always be like that with us." he replied.

My mind momentarily considered the possibilities this added to our already incredible sex life, when I declared, "Then we are_ definitely_ doing that again."

He laughed and shook his head from side to side, clearly amused by my declaration, before he settled me onto the floor. "I think that's something I can agree to, but only if you don't embarrass me out there," he bargained with a nod towards the door.

I smacked him playfully against the chest and confidently assured, "You don't have to worry about that, just do your best and I'll try not to outshine you too much," before I grabbed onto his hand and dragged him back out into the club.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_

**I know I told some of you that smut was going to be included in this chapter and I had every intention of it happening, but by the time I got these two to the bathroom the chapter was already stretching out farther than I wanted. I'm sorry for just the little blood sharing tease, but I promise to make it up to you in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is much shorter than the others and I hope you don't mind. Also, there's not much dialogue included in this chapter, but to me the emotions and actions are the most important part of this moment, well except for one particular phrase.**

_**Please enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>- February 4, 2013 -<strong>

I let out an irritated sigh as I highlighted the paragraph I just composed and clicked delete. I had been sitting in front of this computer screen for the past two hours with nothing but a blank document to show for my efforts and I was quickly losing faith in my abilities as a writer.

Defeated, I let my head fall against my hands before I turned to look out of the window of my apartment into the city of New York. Snow was falling in heavy mounds from the sky above and quickly covering the pavement below. It was the type of image that made you appreciate the comfort of your own home, but right now it only appeared inviting. I would have given anything to be out in that subzero terrain, but instead I was trapped in here with the weight of a deadline quickly approaching.

Even in my camisole and pajama shorts, the weight of my journalism assignment had me feeling an anxious burn all over my body. And the heat from the crackling fireplace behind me was blasting my back. Typically the thing had a soothing effect on my nerves, but right the heat of this room was only adding to my irritation. The air was too thick, so I twisted around to open the window and let in some fresh air.

The crisp breeze immediately swept into the room and I inhaled deeply, absorbing its instant relief from my building pressure to get this damn assignment complete.

I had just started my second semester at Columbia and the strain it was having on my confidence was unbearable. This was only my first project and already I was floundering. I couldn't help but consider that the difficulty of this semester might not have seemed so overwhelming if my first semester hadn't been a piece of cake.

My classes had consisted of simple introduction to writing course and creative writing. The first had been pretty standard and it hadn't taken long to master the basics for this field of work, but creative writing had really been my strong point. Damon had been correct and writing came back to me with ease; almost like relearning how to ride a bike. My hiatus had no effect once my fingers touched those keys again and the events from my past poured out into my work.

My professor had been extremely impressed with my short stories on vampires and werewolves; going as far as to call me the next great thing in supernatural teen literature. It had been a great boost of self-assurance, and the fact that those stories had only slightly been fiction did little to deflate my ego.

But this semester was all about writing from real-life situations and that was proving much harder than it originally sounded because my life was a modern day fairy-tale. With the threat of the supernatural world in my past, I was just an average girl struggling for nothing, except the inspiration for this goddamn assignment. I practically lived in a luxury apartment with my boyfriend, although he still rented the one next door, aced my first semester of college, and thrived in a city where so many had failed.

The only thing out of norm about my life was the fact that I had a vampire as my boyfriend, another as my best friend, and a witch as the other, but even they seemed normal at this point.

My life had fallen perfectly into place and although I hadn't seen the possibility of enjoying a normal life without the threat of impending doom hovering over my head, it had happened. And I absolutely loved it. No more doppelganger hijinks, no more glancing over my shoulders waiting for a vamp to throw me in the trunk of his car, no more worrying for my life.

The only exciting plots that existed in my life now were those brought out in my stories, and it felt right. It was the way life was supposed to be, but that didn't mean it necessarily made for good journalism.

With once last glance of my city, I placed my hands on the keys and began clicking away the first sentence of my paper on today's struggling economy. I had managed to complete two solid sentences, when I heard Damon open the front door. There was some rustling of bags on the island counter before he made his way into my bedroom/office. His hands landed on my shoulders as he leaned down to place a kiss against the satin strands on my head.

"How's the paper coming, sweetie?" he asked.

I relaxed as his hands started massaging my tense shoulders and wondered if I would ever get used to him using terms of endearment. It was incredible to consider how much he had transitioned from the vampire he was when I first met him. Feeling him now, hearing how soft his voice sounded, only proved there were no remnants remaining of that vampire here; only the one that had become mine. The one that Damon only let me see because despite the over-sized heart that broke through his rib cage whenever we were alone, he still had an image to uphold. Or at least that's what he insisted.

The others knew about this side of him, but only a little. They only saw the bits that fell through those cracks in that well-constructed front of his. What they didn't see was this tender side of him and the fiercely intense way he loved me with every ounce of his being. The same way I loved him.

That's right; I was in love with him, I just hadn't told him yet.

The realization had taken me by surprise two nights ago. It hadn't been a special moment or anything out of the ordinary for that matter. All it had taken was a smile, one I had seen a zillion times before from him, for the awareness of my feelings to smack me in the face. They had appeared so suddenly that I hadn't even known how to handle them at first, so I'd decided to get a grip on them before I allowed Damon to embrace them with me.

I know what most people would ask – why the hell had it taken me this long to get to this point. But the thing was; I hadn't wanted to blurt out the words without meaning them the way he meant them. You see, with Damon it wasn't just your typical human love; it was so much more. It was that type of love that latched onto everything you thought you were and made you rethink it. That type that enveloped your heart in a steel cage and locked it tight so it only beat for them. That type that made you realize there was nothing more satisfying than hearing your name roll off their tongue with as much adoration as you felt in return. That type that made you realize they were the only reason you were still breathing.

It was that all-consuming, life-altering, sucking you under and lifting you up at the same time type love; and I felt it. I felt it so deeply that it was almost unbelievable to consider this type of devotion was possible, but there it was desperately fighting to break out of me and only for him.

And right now it seemed to be concentrating under those masterful fingers of his as they worked on my shoulders.

But it was not the time to tell him. So I let out a comfortable sigh, feeling the way his presence had managed to already lighten the mood of the room, and answered, "The computer screen speaks for itself."

He rested his chin on the top of my head as he looked at the screen. I could practically feel his eye roll, but he disregarded my hopelessness and assured, "Don't worry, it'll come."

"It's due tomorrow morning at 8am. It needs to come now," I complained.

His thumbs pressed deeper into my shoulders, revolving around in circular motions, as he tried to ease my tension. "And it will. Just stop worrying."

"But what if I can't do this, Damon? What if the only things I can write are short stories of semi-fictional vampires? What if that's all I am?" I asked, the words coming out in edged panic shouts.

"It's not, trust me," he replied, knowing full well this wasn't just about the paper anymore. "And you'll have this thing written by tomorrow morning because you're brilliant. Don't ever doubt that." He spoke the words with so much earnesty that I was beginning to believe them myself. Honestly, it was hard not to believe him when he said things that way.

"But I think right now what you really need is a distraction," he said, suddenly making my awareness of his fingers against my flesh intensify.

"And what type of distraction did you have in mind?" I asked as I leaned my head back to shoot him a sly grin.

He narrowed his eyes and stated, "Oh, I think you might know," as his fingers walked their way down my collarbone and hovered right above the arch of my camisole.

Having him there, only inches above my anticipating peaks, and his cool breath against the top of my head, already had my body igniting in heat like it was soaked in gasoline and he was a lit match. But for the sake of making him work a bit for it, I halfheartedly objected, "But I need to get this written." I really did, but the idea of Damon as my distraction was a much more enticing offer.

His hand slowly snaked its way down under the fabric of my camisole to graze the hardened tip of my breast. It circled the area slowly as his mouth lowered to kiss the arch of my neck, before taking the entire thing in the palm of his hand. He massaged the area as his kisses trailed their way up to the lobe of my ear.

"Damon," I managed to get out in a failed attempt of resistance, as his other hand slid under the elastic of my pajama shorts to play with my sensitive nub. His mouth felt like ice melting against my fire-engulfed skin as he arched his finger between my folds and into my center. The position we had found ourselves in offered him the perfect access to my sweet spot. That combined with the stroke of his tongue against my neck, the play of his thumb against my clit, and the tweak of my nipple between his fingers, had me shattering much quicker than I had anticipated. I shuddered as the blissful waves crashed through me and let my head fall back against his shoulder.

But I knew he wasn't nearly finished yet. As my chair spun around, his hands found their way around my waist to lift me up into his arms and goose bumps spread over my skin in anxious anticipation of the main event.

His lips latched onto mine; devouring everything I had to offer, as his tongue slid its way into my mouth. He explored my canyon of warmth, slipping along my tongue in perfect strokes, as his hands slid down my back to grip onto my cheeks.

One of my hands reached around his back as the other found its way into the luxurious strands of his dark hair. I laced them between my fingertips as my back landed on the bed.

After one last soul-crushing kiss, Damon pulled back and ordered, "Take everything off," displaying the perfect amount of dominance amidst the tender feel of his touch.

As he unbuttoned his shirt and removed his pants, I did as I was told, never peeling my eyes from his silhouette. I ogled the ripples his abs created down his stomach and blinked my eyes just to make sure he wasn't an illusion. Although I had seen him like this many times before, it never failed to evoke this response from me.

I had just managed to slide my lacy boy shorts from around my ankle, when he lowered his boxer-briefs and freed his erection.

Him standing there in all of his god-like glory had my mouth going dry and my skin crawling in desperate need of his touch. Thankfully, he didn't make me wait long before he lowered himself on top of me and his hands were exploring all the areas that had been begging for attention.

The tips of his fingers left icy trails as they felt their way down the curvature of my sides, while his tongue played attention to the peaks of my breasts. I reached down to take all of him in my hand and started stroking his length as his tongue began creating circular motions around my nipples. When I felt his lips encompass one and begin to suck, I tightened my grasp and stoked harder to keep myself from reaching my peak too quickly.

Damon closed his eyes and let out a low grunt, before he lifted his face from my chest and demanded, "I need to be inside you, now!"

Those words played like a sweet symphony in my ears, as I removed my grip and he slid inside of me. I let out a rushed release of air as he filled my center and I knew this was what heaven had to of felt like. He fit inside of me perfectly, filling me completely in a way no one before him had, and it only intensified my love for him to extraordinary levels.

He slowly began to slide in and out of my core, stroking my inner walls in all of the right locations, as his lips found their way back to mine. He tasted like the rich icing on one of those expensive cakes, and as his thrusts quickened, I couldn't resist biting down hard on his lower lip to maintain some control.

One of Damon's hands had tangled itself in my sea of chestnut hair and his other clenched tighter onto my hip as he picked up the pace. My breathing intensified as I switched between letting out moans and calling out his name. With each motion, he rubbed against my sensitive walls taking me a step up my own climatic ladder, before he lifted my leg allowing him access to my g-spot.

His member hit it seamlessly and my fingernails dug into his back as the roof of my apartment vanished leaving me rocketing into cloudless blue skies. My breathing became heavy, my heart felt like it was running a relay race in my chest, and I knew I was seconds away from release.

As my legs started to tremble and my toes curled inward, Damon shot inside me one last time. The clouds vanished leaving me floating in outer space, before I drifted over that blissful edge and tumbled back down to earth. My walls tightened, and I rode each wave as I free-fell back to reality, causing Damon to reach his own climax.

He shuddered on top of me before we both collapsed in heaps onto the bed and I panted into his chest. He waited for my heartbeat to settle before he lifted his body from mine. He then placed the gentlest kiss against my lips and stroked the side of my face. His blue eyes shined down on me and he whispered, "I love you," before he rolled over and settled beside me.

Although his body rested only inches from mine, the separation felt oceans-wide and I rolled over to rest my body into his. He laced his arm around my back and my head settled against my own personal nook in his neck. I absorbed the chill his skin provided against my sweat glistened skin and felt like I could spend the rest of my life contained within the comforting embrace of his hold.

We laid in that comfortable silence, our bodies completely intertwined in the others, before I finally peered up to look at him. His eyes were closed and the peaceful expression on his face almost read as angelic. He was painstakingly beautiful and he was mine; _this vampire was all mine_.

As my eyes ran their way over the curvatures of Damon's face, I felt my heart expand a few sizes in my chest. It stretched against the skin holding it in place as my hand found its way to his cheek. At my touch, his eyes fluttered open and I was blasted by the intensity of those three words clawing the back of my throat.

No declaration of mine had ever held this much weight or fought this hard to get out, but then again, I had never felt this strongly about anything before. And there was no reason to hold it in. I was happier than I had ever been because of him and the things he did/for me. He'd made me feel this way and it was time he knew it.

"Damon," I said, his name coming out much more rushed than I had anticipated.

He stared back, waiting for me to continue, with eyes that were just so blue.

He'd always believed in me and I'd made him wait far too long for this, but right now the moment felt right. It was time he knew that my previous frustration over my current project was simply a blip on my radar because he had made this moment and my life absolute perfection.

So I smiled at him, because there was nothing else that could decorate this moment more appropriately than that action, and proclaimed, "I love you," knowing I meant it as completely as Damon Salvatore did whenever he said it to me.

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><p><em><strong>Please read and review! :)<strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

**Big time gap this time between moments and my plan is to have them continue this way. That could change, but it's my plan. Besides that, a few of you asked if you could read about Damon's reaction to Elena telling him that she loved him, so I threw that into this chapter. It's not too detailed, but I hope it did the reaction justice.**

_**Please Enjoy!**_

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><p><strong>- April 2014 -<strong>

_To the right, to the right._

I followed the direction of the _Cuban Shuffle_ blasting from the speakers and took four steps to the right. I wasn't sure how this song had ever become signature for wedding receptions, but I wasn't complaining. It was simple and surprisingly fun for how mundane and repetitive the dance steps were. Plus, it was nice to have a song designated only for us girls, while the men watched from the sidelines as we added our personal touches to the mix.

_To the left, to the left._

Caroline and I switched and side-stepped towards the opposite direction. She was laughing and wearing the exact ridiculous smile I had plastered across my own face. The same upward curl that now made regular appearances in my life. As a matter of fact, it hardly ever disappeared and when it did Damon immediately found a way to pull it out again.

That giddy expression had permanently adhered itself to my face because somehow those five-minute breaks Damon used to supply me when things got too heavy became my entire life. It was still in that absolute perfection stage, complete with an amazing boyfriend, fabulous friends, and a successful college experience that was quickly coming to a close.

Columbia's MFA writing program had been two years of brutally hard work and dedication, but I had made it through and now felt ready to tackle anything the real world threw at me; including the all-important process of finding a publisher willing to invest their faith in my work.

That step should have terrified me, but I only felt ready for the challenge. Damon's constant insistence of my brilliance had taken effect, and maybe a bit of his confidence had rubbed off on me over the past two years. Whatever the reason, I whole-heartedly believed it now as well. I was going to be a writer, a successful one at that, and I'd be damned if anyone or anything tried to stop me.

But tonight wasn't about me and the awaiting obstacles in my life, it was about Ric and the fact that he had managed to rise from the dark ashes of our past.

When Jeremy had left last fall to attend NYU with Caroline, we'd all feared the worst for our old history teacher and the man that had become the closest thing to a father figure I'd had since the passing of my parents. But then Meredith had appeared vanquishing any of our concerns. Their romance had been a whirlwind, but at their age the pace had been appropriate. And now we were all gathered to celebrate their marriage.

So it only seemed fitting that these smiles were stretched so tightly against our lips. Ric was happy and we were all together.

"Have you seen Tyler?" Caroline asked as we kicked our feet forward in timing with everyone else.

"Yeah, he's sitting back at the table with Bonnie and Jeremy," I said and pointed my finger towards the back of the room. "You know for being what you are, your senses kind of suck."

Caroline glanced in the direction and shook her head from side to side. "I just can't keep track of the boy. I really need to get him on a leash."

I laughed at the idea of Caroline's toting her werewolf around on a linked chain and deadpanned, "I'm sure that would go over well."

She cocked her head to the side and scrunched up her nose. "Probably not; but not all of us can be as in sync with our boyfriend's as you are, Elena. Some of us need to take drastic measures to keep our relationships afloat."

As we stepped to the right, I twisted my head to look at my best friend and asked, "What does that mean?"

"You know what I mean," Caroline scoffed. "You are Damon are perfect for each other. He's the yin to your yang and all of that crap."

"And Tyler's not the yin to your yang?" I asked; eyes wide and eyebrows arched.

She waved her hand through the air dismissively and countered, "Oh he is, just not the way Damon is to yours." We took a few steps to the right before she added as a side note, "It's just sometimes I envy the way you two are together."

I grabbed onto her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Care, I know it's hard living in different states, but you guys have made it work and you'll continue to."

She shook her head and admitted, "That's not what I meant." She then rolled her eyes as though she was annoyed by my ignorance and continued, "Yes, Tyler and I are crazy happy and in love, but you two take it to a whole other level."

It was true and the smile crept back over my lips. Damon and I were what happiness was, far beyond the overuse of it as a word, and instead straight to its root meaning.

"Aha, see," Caroline shouted in giddy excitement as her index finger reached over and almost tapped my lips. "You know exactly what I'm saying."

I laughed at how excited she always seemed to get when someone accepted one of her observation as the dance forced us to spin around. Caroline's back stood in front of me, but that didn't stop her from peering around in my direction and confessing, "I have to admit, in the beginning I had my doubts about you and Damon, of all people, making it work. But somehow you've tamed the beast that was Damon Salvatore and you've made it look effortless."

"It's wasn't effortless; trust me," I replied, although it really hadn't been that difficult. Taming Damon hadn't been the problem at all, it had been getting me to realize that, despite everything, he had been the right choice for me to make.

We twisted around again as my eyes landed on Damon's. He was standing off to the side talking with Ric and my stomach flip-flopped at the image of him in a tux. It had done this at least twenty times over the evening and I was still waiting for the reflex to cease. With our eyes locked on each other's, he shot me an adoring smile and I realized exactly how correct Caroline's assessment of our relationship had been.

I racked my brain for the reason Damon and I fit, before I accepted that it wasn't something I could pinpoint. And that's because it was everything about the two of us together that worked.

The calming effect of the slight twine of my fingers lacing through his whenever we're around others and someone says something that I know is about to trigger Damon's dangerous side. The comforting way he pulls me into his lap when were alone and my frustration and impatience gets the best of me over a deadline. The way his expression always seems to mimic what I'm thinking because he's just that in tune with everything going on in there.

How our fights, although rare, seem to explode like a nuclear combustion, fueled by passion and our similar stubborn natures, because neither one of us is afraid of the other walking away afterwards. How that one single action of his lips against mine has the ability of making the entire world fade away. How we've managed to fix and meld the damaged pieces of the other; both from vampires we held more faith in than we should have, into a combined solid structure. One that held the capability of withstanding anything, or at least that's how it certainly felt.

All of those things were just examples of why we worked, but it was the combination of them all and so many others that really solidified it. We just worked; plain and simple. And according to Caroline, we made it look effortless.

So I smiled back at him, cocked my head to the side and whispered, "I love you," knowing he could hear the words perfectly.

He mouthed them back to me as the _Cuban Shuffle_ faded away and the DJ announced that it was time for the last dance of the night.

"Tyler's not weaseling his way out of dancing with me this time. I'll be right back. " Caroline informed, causing my eyes to break from Damon's and glance in her direction, before she hastily made her way to our table.

"How can you say something like that and expect me to keep my hands off of you," Damon suddenly whispered into my ear as his hand stretched around the front of my waist.

My flow of time had managed to switch itself into vampire speed over the years, so him sneaking up on me this way didn't come as a shock. I smiled as his breath played on the frame of my ear and teased, "It's called restraint. I know you have some buried in you somewhere."

"I'll try my best to find it," he replied as the sounds of Edwin McCain's _I Could Not Ask For More_ floated through the air. His hand slid down my side to find mine and as his fingers laced themselves between my tiny ones, Damon forced my body out into a twirl. I spiraled out before he gently yanked me back in against his chest and laced his arm around my back. He leaned his head beside mine and whispered once again into my ear, "But the way you were just undressing me with your eyes has me _very_ appreciative that this is the last dance of the night."

I laughed against the side of his face before I pulled back and corrected, "I was not undressing you, simply admiring the way you look in your tux."

He narrowed his eyes seductively at me and said, "It's okay, Elena, I know what goes on in that dirty mind of yours, but I promise to keep it a secret."

"Whatever you say," I concluded and rolled my eyes, deciding not to argue the matter anymore. If Damon wanted to believe I was undressing him with my eyes, then he could believe it. And so what if I kind of had been?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Caroline tow Tyler to the side of dance floor. He wrapped his arm around her as they began dancing to the music and I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. Caroline might not have believed it, but observing them this way allowed me to see that they were equally as happy as Damon and I were. They bickered, yes, but their love was obvious; as obvious as the love between my brother and Bonnie who were swaying beside them and whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.

Our three pairings had lasted through everything; through the distance, the supernatural realm, and the heartaches. And it appeared we truly were unbreakable.

Feeling content in simply enjoying the moment, I lowered my head against Damon shoulder and inched my body against his as we swayed to the slow rhythm of the music. It was peaceful and, with his hand rubbing smooth circles against my back and the subtle way his thumb ran over the flesh of my hand, it felt so right being this way with him.

We continued our motions through half of the song when Damon finally broke the silence and asked, "So what were you and blondie talking about?"

I lifted my head and pulled back so I could narrow my eyes at him. "Like you don't already know."

He cocked his head to the side, shot me his gleaming toothy grin, and replied, "True, but it still doesn't hurt hearing you say it."

I smiled back and rolled my eyes before I repeated what he already knew. "She was just saying how perfect we are for each other."

"I knew there was a reason I let you keep her around," Damon commented as his hand slid from behind my back and he whirled me onto the dance floor.

Under his control, I gracefully swept back in and recalled, "I think you were the one who originally tried to drive a stake through her heart."

Damon shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "Eh… that was only once and a long time ago at that. But points to you for remembering."

"You tried to kill one of my best friends, I hardly doubt that's something I'll forget," I responded making sure to keep the tone of my voice light so he didn't mistake my statement as a dig. Of course, the effort was completely unnecessary considering he already knew how forgotten his devious actions of the past were to me.

He lowered his face down to my level, bringing me inches away from the blinding brilliance of his eyes, and stated, "So you might not forget, but you _did_ forgive."

"I did, because you proved that you deserved my forgiveness. You proved you deserved a lot of things," I responded and slowly pressed my lips against his.

It was an innocent kiss, completely void of tongue and only lasting a few seconds, but equally as satisfying as any of our others.

When out lips parted, Damon rotated his head so that his forehead rested against mine and proclaimed, "She's right, you know?"

"Caroline? About what?" I questioned.

"You and me," he answered. Plain and simple.

"She is, isn't she?" I agreed with a satisfied smile lighting up my face.

He pulled back, shot me a wicked smirk, and joked, "Who'd of thought, right?"

"Who'd of thought," I repeated still mesmerized by the idea that this worked; that we worked.

I leaned into him and pressed my nose against his; the smile still stretched across my lips. God, I was happy and it was a direct result of the vampire whose hold was the perfect medium between dominant and light.

We remained in that position, eyes locked onto the others, the world a distant blur around us, as the music decrescendoed and finally faded into silence.

Damon rotated his head so his lips, once again, pressed into mine before he pulled back and suggested, "Let's say our goodbyes, but then I want you to take a walk with me."

"Okay," I said before he led me through the dance floor and over to our friends. I hugged them all and said my goodbyes, congratulated Ric and Meredith one last time, and made my way through the French doors into the backyard of the reception hall.

It was the beginning of spring, but the dogwood trees had already started to bloom. Christmas lights had been strewn over them, supplying the area with an enchanting light glow just suitable enough for me to make out the pink of the flowers amidst the dark night. Stars speckled the sky and I felt like I had just stepped into a scene from one of my favorite romantic films. That was how picturesque the scenery was.

As my eyes roamed the sight, we walked in silence a few moments and I couldn't help but notice how nervous Damon appeared. It was almost un-nerving considering how sure of himself he usually was, but there was something about his eyes that screamed vulnerability and I waited to see what had him strewn out in such a way.

We took three more steps before Damon finally situated himself in front of me. If I hadn't known him better, I would have sworn his hands were shaking as he took mine in between them, but I _did_ know him and there was no way that was possible.

With my tiny hands fitting perfectly inside of his strong ones, Damon lifted his cerulean eyes and confessed, "Elena, I have no idea what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along."

"Damon, it's okay because I did and we're…," I started to get out.

But he shook his head and interjected, "Just let me get this out, okay?"

I sealed my lips because I could feel it in my gut that whatever Damon was about to confess would be monumental. There was something about the shade of his eyes and the way the edges of his lips kept shifting that had me yearning for whatever came out of his mouth next.

He smirked at my obedience, before it faded and the intensity of the moment crept back over his expression. "Like I was saying… I was content living the malicious existence I had been until I met you. It didn't happen immediately, but somehow you crept in and managed to change everything I stood for. You pushed me towards embracing something I hadn't known I was capable of becoming. You forced humanity back into me and made me realize that I was capable of more than just a soulless existence."

He paused and took an unnecessary deep breath before continuing, "You gave me something to fight for, even when you made it perfectly clear that you were the furthest from obtainable. You forgave me for everything I put you through. You trusted me enough to break down in front of me time after time and let _me_ piece back together the shattered fragments of your life. You opened up to _me_, finally let me into your world, and it still surprises the hell out of me every morning when I see you lying beside me."

He then reached up to stroke the side of my cheek with the back of his hand. I leaned into it and noticed just how powerful the gleam in his eyes was as he admitted, "You've changed me, Elena, there's no denying that. But I don't want to."

Damon then slowly let his hand fall as he slid and took a knee on the ground. I imagined he resembled the way he would have been in 1864; eyes full of innocence and hope, untainted by the life he had lived. His vulnerability, raw and flopped across the grass underneath of us.

Seeing him that way forced my breathing to stop abruptly and my jaw to fall lifelessly as my awareness of what was about to happen crept in.

He reached into his pocket and flipped open the small box revealing the most beautiful ring I had ever laid eyes on. Even in the dim light of our surroundings, the thing seemed to sparkle majestically.

He then smiled at me, the type that always seemed to unhinge my extremities, while his insecurities fluttered over his eyes, and asked, "So I wanted to know, will you marry me?"

I know when someone proposes, your future's supposed to flash before your eyes; littered with all of the possibilities that type of union can create. But that didn't happen to me. Instead, the only thing I thought about was the way Damon had reacted when I told him I loved him.

The way his eyes had brilliantly illuminated when he heard those three words escape from my lips. The ethereal expression that had spread over his features when he realized that he was the recipient of that type of devotion from me. Yes him; the darker, dangerous brother who had never been chosen and always stood second best against his sweeter, softer sibling.

The way he had followed that image with the physical act of pulling me in and wrapping his arms so tightly around my fragile frame; clearly portraying how much the words meant to him and how valiantly he would continue to fight to make sure they never lost the meaning they currently possessed. And then finally, the way his lips had smashed against mine, invigorated with passion and hunger and satisfaction.

The memory of his reaction to that already unspoiled moment had been stored in my private arsenal; one I replayed quite often because he had been just so damn beautiful.

And all I wanted was to see that beauty painted on him again and to revel in the fact that I was the reason it was there. There was nothing I _needed_ more than to experience that moment again.

So, I lowered myself to the ground as my hands lifted to touch the side of his exquisite cheeks and answered, "Yes," before I pulled his lips against mine and absorbed the repeated magnificence that came with that simple answer.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_

**I know I did it again and cut it off right before Damon's reaction, but when I picture this thing in my head it seems fitting that these little future glimpses would cut off right when Elena feels the peak of the moments emotional mountain. **


	8. Chapter 8

**There has been a ton of controversy surrounding this chapter and I apologize to those of you who receive story alerts and received so many emails this time around. I took the chapter down because people didn't approve and then decided to throw it back up once others told me they did. I realize that in no way am I going to please everyone and while that makes me sad... it's still the truth.**

**So yes, this is the original version for those of you who wanted to read it and it's the one I'm sticking with.**

**I'm going to hold off my explanation until after the chapter for those of you who haven't read it yet.**

_**I hope you all like it.**_

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><p><strong>- May 2015 -<strong>

My fingertips clicked furiously against the keys on my keyboard as I rounded out another chapter of my first novel as a soon to be published author. The complete first draft was due to my publisher in less than a week. There was only one chapter still left unwritten, but that did little to alleviate the pressure from the massive amounts of bricks that seemed to be weighing down my shoulders.

"How's the book coming along?" Damon asked as he stepped into the room and disappeared into the closet.

I knew he was asking more out of politeness than anything else considering he hated the novel. But it wasn't exactly the novel he hated; he couldn't, since it was a depiction of our lives and relationship. Yeah, I'd gone the easy route and stuck with what I knew best; a human girl who falls in love with a vampire only to have her whole world flipped upside down in the process.

My publisher had read a few of my short stories and insisted I strike while the iron was hot. Teen girls were still flocking to book stores eager to read the juicy details of falling in love with an eternal damned and since I'd already been there done that twice, I figured what the hell. Might as well write something that will actually get read right?

So for the past few months I had done nothing but sit in front of this computer tapping away a memoir to my past, and that was why Damon hated the novel. It had become a time-suck, almost an addiction of some sort and it left little time for anything else. What he didn't know, or maybe he did, was that I had started using it as a distraction, an escape really, from us. The writing took me back to a time before everything became complicated; not with my life, of course, considering everything that had happened when I first discovered a supernatural realm existed, but with us and our relationship.

Then again, I guess we'd been complicated back then too; we'd _always_ been intricate, but in a completely different way than we were now.

"It's coming," I answered vaguely and pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind so that I could offer him the focus I so seldom supplied him lately.

"Good," he said as Damon emerged from the closet buttoning up his black shirt and shot me a smile. It didn't reach his eyes, but they rarely did nowadays. He then rolled up his sleeves and started towards the door as he announced, "I'm heading out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" I questioned.

He waivered in the doorway before he turned around and replied, "I just need to run a few errands. I'll be back in a couple of hours." He didn't need to clarify any further; I knew he was heading to the hospital to pick up blood bags.

We used to talk so freely about these sorts of things, like couples would if one was heading to the corner mart to pick up a carton of milk. Now Damon kept details like that to himself, almost as if saying the words out loud would force the reality of what he was to the surface and involuntarily result in me flinching away.

His vague response had little effect on me though because this was what we had simmered down to; a couple that tiptoed around each other, always afraid the other would finally throw in the towel and bolt for the door.

When I nodded my head in acceptance, he left. No kiss on the cheek or 'I love you,' he just left.

I heard the front door shut and slumped down into my chair. I ran my fingers through my hair and released a long sigh as I considered how we had gotten to this point.

It was my fault, although I liked to blame it on Caroline and Bonnie because I was _that_ girl; the one who internally placed blame on others to relinquish some of the brunt of embracing it all alone.

I had experienced the full glee of being Damon Salvatore's fiancé' for one solid evening; only one. When I met Caroline and Bonnie for brunch the next morning, I was your standard soon to be bride; complete with the enthusiastic smile and exultant haze. I was happy and I couldn't wait for my girlfriends to share the sensation with me, but then all of that changed after one simple question.

"So you're changing for him?"

Bonnie had been the one to break free of the rings mystical trance first and ask it while Caroline's eyes remained transfixed on the diamond.

I wanted to be angry with her for spoiling the special moment, but I couldn't. Bonnie had always been the voice of reason in our group, always making sure we understood exactly what we were deciding, so it was only natural for her to ask the question. That doesn't mean I didn't wish she had held it off until after at least a congratulations.

But her disregard of my special moment hadn't been what angered me the most. It was the fact that her question had caught me off guard. Truth was, I hadn't even given the option a though yet. I knew I should have considered it since I _had_ agreed to marry a vampire, but I had been so wrapped up in the freshness of it all, that I hadn't had time to accept that it was my inevitable future. I felt side-blasted, unprepared and completely unsure of how I was supposed to respond.

Fortunately, I didn't need to because Caroline's let my hand drop and spoke up for me. "Of course she is, Bonnie." She then turned back and unleashed her supply of excitement in my direction. "Oh my god, we're gonna be friends for eternity!"

Through brunch, I kept a fake smile sliced across my face, for Caroline's benefit, and struggled to keep myself together while the walls seemed to come closing in around me. I never gave Bonnie a response before we left the diner; instead I let Caroline's statement sit as my answer.

What my girlfriends didn't understand was that they'd planted a seed of doubt behind the façade I'd established for my perfect life. Over the months its vines had grown, tangling themselves through my every thought, and I often found myself struggling to keep it together. Because apparently when it came to that decision, I was no longer a mature adult and instead I was still eighteen, insecure in who I was and overwhelmed by the finality in becoming a vampire to be with the one I loved.

Damon had sensed my change immediately. He'd done his best to crack me open so that I could pour my troubles onto him. He didn't want me going through whatever I was going through alone. But I had sealed myself up tight, tight enough that even he couldn't break through, because I felt ashamed that after all of this time I was still the same person, still stuck in the same mind-set I had been so long ago. It didn't seem fair to unleash that onto him.

After a while, he stopped asking about my problem, maybe because he'd figured I'd get through it on my own or maybe because he'd just gotten tired of trying. I'm not sure. A part of me had blindly hoped that I would manage to work my way through it on my own as well, but I never did.

The doubt, the unbearable fear that I would be forced to become something I still had no desire of becoming, they swirled inside of me as a constant reminder that I would never be strong enough to make Damon completely happy for eternity.

And that was how we got here, existing in the same apartment, but never co-existing. We were two separate entities, each on their own track that never crossed over the other. The distance that had formed between us felt miles wide. We barely touched and we certainly never laughed. He no longer pulled me in to make everything slow down when the world was spinning too fast. I no longer ruffled my hands through his perfect hair because I knew it would get a rise out of him. We no longer danced in the living room or made love on the sofa.

All we did was exist.

And it was heartbreaking, because I had done this. My doubt had done this to us. I had destroyed the perfection that was us. We were no longer the couple that made things look effortless because it had sucked every bit of energy from both of us. And again, it was my fault.

I bit my lower lip and furiously wiped away a stray tear that slid down my cheek before I shook my head in disgust. I wasn't even sure who I'd become anymore. I was ashamed of my own selfishness. If I wasn't strong enough to be with Damon the way he deserved then I should have told him. I should have let him go, but instead I kept him dangling on that tiny rope of faith knowing he would never leave me because there was always the possibility that I would climb my way out of this hole and we'd be perfect again.

Only I knew better. This decision would never go away and my choice would always remain the same. I wanted to be mortal; I never wanted to be a vampire. I wanted a normal life and unfortunately Damon didn't fall under the category of normal. Instead, he fell under a category all on his own, one that was certainly special, but I wasn't sure I could fit into my life anymore or even deserved it to for that matter.

Feeling frustrated with my own thoughts, I rolled my eyes and lifted myself from the chair. Bonnie would be here soon to help bake cookies for my bridal shower tomorrow and although partaking in an event designated to celebrate the success of my relationship felt like lying; Caroline would shoot me if I didn't play my proper part. Yes, I was a bad friend for not telling her about our problems, but until I was sure which way I was going to choose, I hadn't had the heart to be honest with her.

That was why I'd invited Bonnie over to help with the cookie preparations. She understood everything and I knew she would accept and love me no matter which decision I made. I could talk to her about anything and I had every intention of doing so today.

After an hours-worth of preparation, I had just finished setting all of the ingredients onto the counter when the phone rang. Seconds later, the doorbell rang. Figuring it was Bonnie, I shouted "The doors unlocked. You can come on in," and ran over to answer my cell.

I said, "Hello," and was surprised when Bonnie's voice sounded from the other side. "I'm so sorry, I'm running late. I just left so give me twenty minutes," she explained before she hung up the phone.

The person at the door hadn't been Bonnie. It certainly hadn't been Damon, he'd of just walked right in, and Caroline would have made her presence known instantly.

Hesitantly, I turned around to glance in the direction of the kitchen and the door only to have my breath hitch in my throat. The last person I ever imagined to pay me a visit was sitting in one of my bar stools against the island in my kitchen. His profile was relaxed and he was completely still; the perfect depiction of a statue. He was in dark jeans and a navy t-shirt, still as breathtaking as ever, and if I hadn't been so terrified to see him, my heart might have stutter-stopped in my chest.

I gawked at Stefan and waited for him to finally rotate his head in my direction. I tried to form words, I really did, but my voice failed me.

Finally, he slowly turned to face me, but just his head, the same way owls had the capability of doing so. The features of his face after all of these years still held the same power over me they used to. He was stunning and everything about him was the same, except for his eyes. All of the green had faded from those gorgeous hazel gems of his leaving only a brown so dark it could have been mistaken for black. The softness I had been so familiar with had disappeared and been replaced by nothing. And as they stared at me, never wavering, never blinking, I couldn't help but feel as hollow as they appeared.

We remained like that, him penetrating into me and me speechless, for what felt like decades. Then he finally lifted his brows and broke the silence. "Nice place you've got here," he stated with a nonchalance that did little to settle my nerves.

His eyes roamed the interior of my apartment as he added, "No doubt Damon bought it for you."

I wanted to say something, I wanted to move, but I couldn't. I was completely frozen under the shock of having this brother in my apartment. The one I had written off and accepted that I would never see again.

Apparently my stiffness had irritated Stefan because he refocused his eyes on me and titled his head to the side. The simple act softened him a bit and made the image of him easier to swallow as he teased, "I don't bite, Elena."

At his words, I shook myself from the trance and asked, "What are you doing here?"

He seemed offended that I would ask him such a question, although he had no right to be. I hadn't seen him in four years, so the question was justifiable. He shot me a smirk, one that resembled Damon's from his earlier stages a bit too well, and asked, "Can't I just stop by to see how you are?"

"After four years?" I accused in disbelief.

He rubbed his hand and furrowed his brows, inducing an innocence I had to remind myself was an act, and said, "I know it's been a while and I'm sorry for that, really. I've been rather preoccupied, but I realized how much I missed you. Honestly, I've been watching you for a while and decided it was finally time to make my presence known."

I watched him warily. I didn't understand his relaxed demeanor and his eyes made me uncomfortable. They were so hollow that I feared that in any moment I would fall right into them. It would be so easy, but I refused to fall back into him. So I crossed my arms defiantly over my chest and prayed like hell my strength didn't appear as feeble as it felt. "I wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you again."

A smile crept over his lips this time. Not the smirk from before, but a satisfied smile. "But, Elena, it is. I know you so well. Your heart is jackhammering away in your rib cage because of how excited you are to see me."

I wanted to yell at him and scream he didn't know me or understand my bodies' involuntary actions as well as he thought he did; that was an ability specially reserved for Damon. But instead the only phrases I could produce were, "You're wrong. Things are different now. I've moved on."

He rolled his eyes at my attempt of pushing him away and muttered, "Oh yes, to Damon I've seen. I'd love to say that I'm surprised, but I'm not really. I knew he'd lick your wounds once I left, but I must admit that I expected the two of you to be happier. You're both a bit too broody for my taste and it's clear you're both miserable."

I ignored the irony of Stefan calling us broody, and I focused on the hatred I felt towards him immediately after he'd spoken poorly of Damon. I wasn't sure I wanted to become a vampire, but I sure as hell knew I still loved him and having someone attack him verbally made my blood boil.

But instead of throwing my annoyance in his direction, I let my fury fizzle out and refuted, "We're not miserable." A part of me knew Stefan was right and once again I mentally kicked myself for forcing Damon to be miserable with me. Why did he have to reflect me so effortlessly? It had always been alright when I was alive and content, but not with the way I was now.

Completely ignorant to my internal scolding, Stefan replied, "Whatever you say," He'd said it sarcastically in a tone that clearly displayed he didn't believe me, before a false sincerity made his way to his voice. "But I meant it, Elena. I miss you."

I missed him too. A part of me always would because he had been such a crucial part in my rebirth after the death of my parents, but this wasn't the Stefan I had missed. So I shrugged my shoulders and countered, "I'm sorry, Stefan, but things are different now. You can't just walk in and expect things to go back to the way they were. You're different, I'm different, circumstances are different."

"I figured you were going to say something like that. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately you're right and I am different. I'd have to disagree about you, but we'll let that slide." He then stood up from the chair and my limbs started to tremble as he took the first few steps towards me.

I finally managed to dislodge my foot from the quicksand of my hardwood floors and prepared to make a run for it before he flashed in front of me and took hold of my arm. All of his soft features had transitioned and he appeared as fiercely rigid as ever as he continued further, "The old me would have been alright with whatever decision you made, but I just can't bear the thought of you with _him_ anymore."

Stefan shuddered at his own mentioning of me with his brother and I fought to break free of his hold, although I knew the effort was worthless. "Stefan, don't. You're better than this," I tried to reason as I thrashed my hands against his chest.

But it had no effect, his hold was too tight. He lowered his nose to the base of my neck and inhaled deeply. As he pulled away, his eyes rolled back underneath of his lids and I watched in horror as his demon emerged. The veins streaked from his eyes and if they hadn't been black before, they certainly were now. His fangs elongated past his upper lip and he smiled at me; a malicious smile that had my insides curling and my eyes filling up with liquid.

"God, you smell exactly like I remember," he said, his voice blissful and distant like the memory he was more than likely revisiting.

The tears tumbled down my cheeks as I attempted to pull away from him again. "Please let me go. Please," I pleaded. All I could think was- this couldn't be happening. Stefan would never do this to me.

But it _was_ happening and it became all the more real as his head swooped back and flew to my neck. His fangs pierced through my skin and it hurt like hell. He wasn't trying to be gentle with me like he'd always been in the past because this was what Stefan had become, a carnal monster that was fueled only by the promise of that important red liquid.

He sucked harder, more desperately, on my neck causing an ache to ripple through my body and I screamed. My shrieks only deepened his pulls from my vein and in that moment I knew he wasn't going to stop until he killed me.

The first person, vampire, I had ever loved was going to be the end of me and it was tragic, but I was helpless. There was truly nothing I could do to save myself.

Stefan took another pull from my bloodstream when I heard the door crash open and felt him ripped from my body. Numerous bangs sounded through the room, combined with clangs and crunches that I could only assume was my furniture. Then there was one last deafening thump as my eyes adjusted and I saw Damon smash Stefan's lifeless body against my tile floor.

I only had enough time to see the wooden stake, probably crafted from one of my barstool legs, lodged in Stefan's chest before Damon's hands were on me. They gripped onto the sides of my face as his blue eyes, still blinding even tainted by all of that worry and grief, scanned me over. When they finally stilled on my own and he asked, "Are you okay," I unraveled.

The sobs were violent and seemed to clench up each organ in my body as I absorbed the reality of everything the day had brought. I was crying for what Stefan had become, for his lifeless body lying only feet away from me. I was crying for Damon and the way his arms had wrapped around me, the same way they always would if I just let him. And I was crying because I had been seconds away from death, something that should have petrified me, but only seemed acceptable after everything I had done to these two brothers.

I wasn't placing blame on anyone but myself this time because I had done this. Everything about this was my fault and it appeared I had truly ended up like Katherine. She hadn't been able to help herself from toying with both of them and as a result she had gotten both of them killed, but at least she'd had the common decency of bringing them back afterwards.

I, however, could do nothing for Stefan; my sweet, compassionate, Stefan. He was gone by the hands of his own brother, who I'm sure was secretly falling apart but keeping himself together on my behalf, because I couldn't resist toying with them both either.

The liquid poured from my tear ducts when my eyes landed on Stefan. I had to turn away because I couldn't brace the brunt of that image. I refused to remember the Stefan I had witnessed just seconds before because that hadn't been the real him. It was the monster Klaus had created because my first love was selfless enough to save my second love. The one who nearly died because of a goddamn spell I had been created for.

Another sob rushed out of me when I realized I couldn't do anything for the first one anymore, but I could save the second; I could save Damon. All it required was the simple act of letting him go.

Because although we'd found a way to send people to the moon, we'd discovered cures for incurable diseases, and I'd managed to break through the darker brother's mastered walls and fall in love with him in a way I never had before; it appeared I'd never be able to simply embrace what I was supposed to be if I stayed with him.

I'd never be able to give him what I was supposed to. And I realized that it'd never really been an option, but I'd been too selfish to admit it because I couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

But I couldn't cling to him anymore for the sake of my own happiness, especially considering we were both so unhappy together. I'd forever pull him down into my emotional plummets, the same way I always had, because I'd forever feel like I wasn't contributing my end of our bargain.

The comprehension of this caused my heart to feel like it was imploding, but I overlooked the anguish because this wasn't about me; it was about Damon. And in order for him to survive, I had to give him up.

As the last few drops fell from my eyes, I debated waiting until later to end it. I rationalized that I wasn't ready to let him go yet and he'd just killed his brother, but I knew it needed to be done. Waiting would only make things worse, so I choked back a new wave of tears and saved them for when Damon left. I would surely need them then.

I took a deep breath and prepared to put on the best show of my life and begged that our current situation would reduce Damon's ability to see right through me.

His arms felt so supportive around my frame that I nearly faltered before I even began, but then I found the strength I so desperately needed.

I removed his arms from around me and lifted myself from the ground. I kept my eyes from glancing at Stefan as I walked to the other side of the island. It needed to stand between us because I couldn't handle any temptations to jump back into those arms.

Then I declared, "I can't do this anymore," in a low voice that broke towards the end. Saying it out loud was a million times harder than I had ever imagined, but I took a deep breath and kept the tears from breaching the edges.

Damon's eyes narrowed as he slowly lifted himself from the ground. "What did you say?"

I knew he had heard me in surround sound, so his question had been his way of offering me a redo; a chance to take it back.

98% of me wanted to accept the redo and forget the words had ever left my lips, but the other 2% refused to let me. So with a strength derived from somewhere within, I repeated more assertively, "I can't do this anymore."

This time he was the one to break. Of course I didn't physically see it, but I felt the fracture my words had carved across his resilient flesh. Apparently we weren't indestructible, neither one of us was.

Part of me expected the fracture to continue and for him to break down, but the larger part of me knew what was coming next. I watched his fists curl inward so tightly that I couldn't believe the skin hadn't cracked over his knuckles. His lips stretched thinly across his face and the warmth in his eyes had vanished when he started yelling.

"Goddamnit, Elena, don't do this. I know things have been bad the past few months, but you can't blame me for that. I have no idea what's going through your head for the first time since I've met you and I can't fix anything without you letting me in."

I closed my eyes because I needed a visual break from his pain and anger and refuted in a voice barely above a whisper, "You can't fix this."

"Are you talking about Stefan?" he asked, clearly misinterpreting my statement. Then he shook his head in disbelief as if everything suddenly made sense. "I know you loved him; hell, I did too. But he was going to kill you and there was no way I was going to let that happen. I told you a long time ago that I would always choose you. It doesn't matter who you're up against, Elena."

He then seemed to have lost a bit of his steam and lowered his hands onto the island counter. He kept his head down for a few seconds and repeated almost desperately, "I will always choose you."

All I wanted to say was that I would always choose him, but that would have been a lie wouldn't it? I would always choose my humanity over him and the reality of that was heart-wrenching.

There were so many other words that should have spilled from my mouth, but the only ones that did were, "It's not Stefan."

Damon shook his head from side to side and slammed his fist against the marble countertop. "Well, it sure as hell isn't us. When you get out of your fucking head, when you just let us happen, we're flawless. Our chemistry is off the fucking charts. I understand you in ways no one else does and the same stands true in reverse. So just tell me. What has you so afraid that continuing this doesn't seem like an option anymore?"

"I don't want to be a vampire," I shouted back before I realized what I had admitted.

I expected him to look betrayed or at least hurt by my confession, but his expression registered no surprise whatsoever. His voice lowered to a normal frequency and he replied, "I'm not asking you to."

Frustration coursed through my veins because I couldn't understand why he didn't see the problem in us remaining this way forever. My voice was much more elevated then his due to my irritation when I explained, "It's inevitable Damon. We can't continue this way without coming to that crossroad. I'm going to get older and you're going to stay the same."

I paused and attempted to calm my nerves, only to find it unsuccessful.

"It's inevitable, don't you see that?" I screamed at him, desperate for an acknowledgement that I had made some sort of progress getting him to accept my argument.

But he didn't. His voice rose to meet the intensity of mine and I momentarily wondered if it was because he felt as frustrated with my stubborn nature and I was with his. "It's not inevitable because it's not a choice I'm forcing you to make."

Damon then stopped screaming as though he suddenly became aware he was doing so and walked to my side of the island. His hand lifted up to cup the side of my cheek gently and I had to resist every urge screaming for me to lean into it, as he added, "It's your life and what kind of man would I be if I forced you to make a decision like that?"

Having him that close was just too much. My pulse raced because I knew it was the last time I'd ever be able to feel his gentle touch that way again. The notion was unbearable and suddenly the air felt like it was being ripped from my lungs. I felt like I was drowning in my own sea of desperation. I didn't want to lose him, I wanted to be selfish and I wanted to use his support and soak in his love.

I felt my hand reach up and I knew it was headed in the direction of his cheek, when I finally managed to regain control of my actions.

I snapped it back down and accused, "You've already done it once." I knew it was a low blow, but I had to get him away. Having him that close was clogging my mental judgment and his arguments were causing me to forget why I was fighting for this in the first place. I didn't want him to be unhappy forever. I knew he would be initially after this blow-up, but eventually he'd be able to move on.

He'd find someone strong enough to consider love a good enough reason to change for him; someone more deserving than me. Someone that wouldn't die and leave him to spend the rest of eternity alone.

Another crack appeared across his expression as he stepped back from me, like I knew he would, and muttered, "I can't believe you. You're being ridiculous."

"I'm just being honest," I countered.

I then let my hands fall lifelessly through the air and explained further, "I want kids, Damon. I want to grow old and I want my husband growing old with me. I want to live my life, not be stuck existing in it." I hated how the words kept slipping from my lips, but I had started this devastating train wreck and I had to see it through to the end.

I took a breath and cracked my knuckles. My hands were trembling at my sides and I hated how easily they gave me away, but I chose to ignore them and instead continue on. "Don't you see, I want the opportunities that come with a normal relationship; opportunities you can't give me," I argued and as the words shot from my lips, I realized just how true they were.

Love was a powerful thing, especially the love I felt for the vampire in front of me, but sometimes it just wasn't enough when stacked against everything else.

So I lowered my eyes out of disgust in myself because somehow during our argument, I had realized that I wasn't ending this solely for Damon. I was also ending this for myself and I felt more ashamed than ever as I declared, "It's over, Damon. I need the opportunity to live a normal life."

I didn't hear him step towards me, but I could sense his closeness, the same way I figured I'd always be able to. I guess some things you didn't need vampire senses for, just a connection as deep as ours.

I knew what was coming and braced myself for the touch of his hand against the base of my chin. When it did and he lifted my face upward, I had already prepared myself for it. What I hadn't prepared myself for was how genuine his eyes were when mine were forced to meet them. They were so blue that I wondered how I would ever be able to survive without the image of them and everything they represented.

I was trying to force the air in and out of my lungs when Damon questioned, "Can you honestly tell me that's what you want?" The way he asked it clearly showed that all he cared about was my happiness. If I told him I wanted a life without him in it, he would oblige without further argument because with him it was always about me and what pleased me.

And that made my answer the most difficult to get out, but I still managed to say it. "Yes," I responded as I slid the ring off of my finger and held it up in his direction. The thing suddenly felt ten pounds heavier than before and the mere thought of facing it every day after this had my emotional strength wavering.

He looked at the ring and a sadness crept over his features, the same sadness I had witnessed so many years ago in my bedroom. My heart felt like it was shattering into a zillion pieces when he shook his head at my offer of the ring and the spark in his eyes diminished. I had broken him, this I knew, but if anyone had enough strength to bounce back from this, it was him. And that was what I clung to as he walked past me and picked up Stefan's body.

I couldn't hold myself together _and_ watch him leave, so I turned to face the windows until I heard the front door shut. I then listened to Damon's apartment door close, the one he hardly ever used because he spent all of his time over here with me, before I heard it shut and padlock a second time.

I waited a few seconds for him to get down the hallway before I broke down. I fell into my couch and pulled my legs against my chest as the tears began to drop and the sobs broke loose. I balled my tiny hands into fists and felt the diamond pierce through my skin, but I embraced it. Because, at least, that pain converted some of my emotional agony into physical.

I never thought this day would come. I had involuntarily lost one Salvatore brother and chose to lose the second. I reminded myself it was the right decision to make, but when Bonnie showed up five minutes later I still hated myself for making it and I wondered if I always would.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_

**A/N: I know a lot of you were enjoying this story because of the way I wrote Damon and Elena. They were happy and I totally destroyed that, but to me this issue needed to be approached. Elena is still a human and with that comes insecurities and mistakes that she needs to work through and learn from. The timing may have been inappropriate for her to end it, but there really is no appropriate time to end things. In her mind this was the right thing to do for both her and Damon's sake's.**

**That being said, t****he story is still not over and Elena will realize** **this****_ was_ a mistake. Just please stick with me and don't hate Elena because Damon isn't gone forever.**

**Thank you for all of your continued support and I apologize for all of the problems posting this chapter.**

**- morvamp**


	9. Chapter 9

**- March 15, 2016 -**

**Big thanks to **_**spiritedghost**_** for bouncing ideas around with me about this chapter and the rest of the story. You rock and really gave me a lot to think about with this thing and where it was ultimately headed.**

**A huge thank you is also needed to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I know I made it one hell of a piece to get through and I was extremely interested to see what you all had to say afterwards.**

**Now, about this post… it was the hardest chapter I have **_**ever**_** written and I wanted to punch Damon in the face while writing it. Figuring out what he would say was like pulling teeth, but I really hope it comes off as believable.**

**Also, this chapter is crazy long again, maybe too long, but I'm going on vacation with my girlfriends and won't be updating for at least a week, so I figured I'd leave you off with something longer than normal.**

_**Hope you like it!**_

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><p>I wiped the fog off of my bathroom mirror and took a look at my freshly-showered self. I studied my reflection and wondered why I'd found it so terrible to remain this way forever. It had been such a simply request really, so why had it been impossible for me to comply?<p>

This was something I did at least once a day, with my worst day totally up to 17 instances. But today I would only allow myself this one moment.

Today I was going to force myself to flip up the kick-stand and start living again.

I disregarded the fact that this senseless optimism was also something I partook in every day. Some days it lasted almost until noon and sometimes it only lasted until I stepped foot out of the bathroom and glanced at the bed. The bed that now felt so large when I slept it in alone that the fear of waking up and never finding my way out was prominent.

So far, my optimism had never survived past the mid-day mark. But as I stared at my reflection, I narrowed my eyes and assured myself that today it would.

I took a deep breath before I removed my eyes from the mirror and made my way to the bedroom. As I turned to my dresser, I made sure my gaze never made contact with the empty bed or my computer with the unfinished first draft of my never-published vampire romance contained inside. I then let my towel fall to the floor and slid on my most comfortable pair of cotton shorts and baggy t-shirt. I ran my brush a few times through my satin strands and headed to the kitchen.

As I did, I kept my eyes focused straight ahead and refused to look at the pictures on the wall I hadn't brought myself to take down or at the wine stain on the ground from when Damon had been too preoccupied with kissing me to catch my glass. I then grabbed myself a bowl from the cabinet and turned to get the box of cereal when the crack in my marble countertop swept across my vision. The same one that had been created by Damon's fist when I'd cracked a line down the middle of us.

At the sight of it, I clenched up and the bowl slipped through my fingers, shattering across the tile floor below. I felt the liquid form in my eyes and quickly glanced at the clock only to read 9:26 am.

_At least I'd made it out of the bedroom this time._

I shook my head at how pathetic my life had become before I sank down onto the floor beside the broken pieces of my ceramic bowl.

The tears that began to fall were also something I dealt with every day and I'd learned that it was easier to just fall into the moment instead of trying to resist it. So that's what I did. I fell, straight through the apartments underneath of me, through the foundation of the building, and straight into the pits of hell. Then again, every minute of my life felt like hell so there was really no difference between this moment and when I wasn't breaking down.

There was no word to encapsulate what my life had become since that defining moment ten months ago; except maybe meaningless, blank, or empty. Those weren't exactly the right words, but they got close enough to an accurate description.

I had realized my mistake at 2am the night after our fight. I hadn't been able to sleep and the mechanism controlling my waterworks seemed incapable of being switched off. My whole body ached from sobbing and I knew I had to fix the damage I'd caused.

I'll never forget the pain I felt staring into his apartment. It was missing two very important essentials and it was the moment I understood Damon had left. The fridge where his blood bags were usually stored had been emptied, switched off, and left open. And Stefan's body was nowhere to be found.

That might have been one of the instances I fell deepest, but it's hard to compare really considering how deep I fall each time.

My initial plan of attack was to let myself embrace the full brunt of my decision for a week; maybe two, tops. I had made this choice so it didn't seem fair that I was allowed to cry over it. But then two weeks turned into a month, then two months, and now ten months later I still hadn't managed to recover from the blow.

And that's because losing Damon had shook me to my absolute core. I'd already accepted that it wouldn't be a clean break, but I never expected the pain to last this long or bore this deep. It hurt more than losing Stefan, losing Jenna, even losing my parents. At least after them, my heart had only been damaged and Damon had been there to tape the thing back together. This time there was no Damon to fix my heart and, to be honest; it didn't feel like there was even a heart left to repair.

This time it felt like my heart had literally been ripped from my chest. I'd heard people say the phrase before while explaining the depths of their heartbreaks, but I never really understood how someone could capably understand the way the act felt.

I did now.

The place underneath of my ribcage where my heart should have rested was now filled with a heavy unknown substance and the skin stretched across still burned from when Damon had confiscated it and took it with him.

The burn was overwhelming for the first few months; so overwhelming that I'd been incapable of anything besides surviving the pain. Most of my days were spent entirely under the sheets of my bed. They acted as my security blanket from the real world, one I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to face again. But they had also acted as my net, containing my thoughts and heartache inside of that bed with me because I knew that was what I deserved. The guilt from the insensitive way I'd ended things and the agony that came from ending things; they pooled together leaving me in a constant haze of unclear disappointment.

And I probably wouldn't have survived this initial stage if it weren't for Caroline and Bonnie. During that time, the two of them had united as a force to be reckoned with. They made sure I had a steady stream of nutrition entering my body, even when the smell of food had my insides churning. They had dragged my sorry ass to the bathroom when I needed to shower. Hell, if I asked them to hook a catheter up to me I'm sure they would have.

They had supported me in my heartbreak state and if I still had any emotions left to divvy out, I'm sure they would have drifted their way.

Then another one of my deepest falls occurred. The one where I'd realized Damon's phone had been permanently disconnected and he was never coming back.

After that devastating reality, all of my hope had been stripped away and I transitioned into the next state; the one where the pain just dulls because you've been bearing it for so long. The problem with this stage is that everything else seemed to dull with it.

Nothing held meaning anymore and the only times I ever felt anything was when that unbearable anguish reappeared during my breakdown moments.

Because, still after letting Damon go, he was the only one I could feel anything for.

I was still currently stuck in this numbing state and often times it felt like I was living one of those shots in the movies where the entire world is stuck on fast forward and I was the only one left standing still. Because everything about me now was still. I was no longer moving forward, but instead stuck sinking back into the nostalgia of my past. A perfect past I had thrown away because I hadn't realized how incredibly special it was.

I knew that now and I was living the misery of it every day.

My apartment was a death trap where pleasure moments of my past haunted me at every turn. I had originally debated moving, but decided against it. Part of the reason was because I now considered myself a masochist. I had to be. But the other part of me knew that it was because my grip was still locked tight on the hope that Damon might reappear at my door because he understood how sorry I was and how much I regretted my decision. We'd always been linked in the past, so why wouldn't he be able to feel that?

But I knew he couldn't. If he could then he 'd have been back in a heartbeat, because I now understood the heights that his love for me had reached; the same heights that my love for him had reached. And with each passing day, it became more apparent that although I hadn't seen it before, my life had completely conjoined and depended on his. Without him I was nothing and without him I no longer even existed.

I was still submerged in the memory and remorse of my past when I heard the clicking of heels approach beside me. I closed my eyes and begged for whoever it was to disappear so I could continue my self-wallowing, but instead Caroline's voice intruded on my pity session.

"You're making it really difficult to continue being your friend. You know that?"

"What are you even doing here, Caroline?" I asked. I hadn't seen her in weeks. I didn't know how well her show was doing on Broadway or what the status of her relationship with Tyler was because I'd cut her out of my life. I'd practically cut everyone out of my life.

"I'm here because although you have shown no interest in my life, I still care enough about you to make sure you're not dead," she spat back.

I knew I should have appreciated the gesture. I'd been a terrible friend and should have apologized for it, but instead I said, "I just can't deal with this right now."

She tapped her little stiletto toe against my tile floor and replied, "You can _never_ deal with me or anything else for that matter. All you do is mope around in this apartment feeling sorry for yourself. You don't have a job, you don't write anymore, and I can't speak for Bonnie, but you're getting pretty close to losing your friends too." Her voice was high and it was clear to see she was pissed.

But this was something I'd already known. She'd been pissed with me ever since the day I'd broken Damon's heart. I knew she would be since he'd become somewhat of a brother to her, but I didn't have the strength to brace her honesty or her irritation. I did, however, have enough energy stored to open my glistened eyes and insist, "Please, just go."

My eyes must have looked as terrible as they felt because at the sight of them Caroline seemed to soften a bit. "Look, Elena, I get it. You're hurt and you're depressed. I'm going to ignore the fact that you have no right to be since you chose this, but what was the point in breaking up with Damon in order to live a normal life if you don't get out there and actually do it?"

There was the ultimate question I knew she wouldn't be able to resist asking. It was one of the largest reasons I didn't have the strength to confront her today. The question was absolutely valid and its answer was one of the reason's it hurt so much to reflect back. It was a blinding reminder of the mistake I had made, the one I had made before I realized how effected I'd be by Damon's absence.

If only I had understood our relationship a bit better than I would have realized how incapable it was to forget it and embrace a new one. Now I knew that there truly was no way to move past a connection like ours, which meant my mistake had been made for nothing.

"There was no point. And I know that," I shouted at her. I hadn't felt energy surge through me this intensely in what felt like years. It was exhilarating and made me feel powerful, unlike the fragile pathetic creature I'd become. "I also feel bad enough as it is without you adding to it. I understand that you don't agree with what I did or how I did it, but it's already been done and I can't take it back now. But maybe you can gain a little satisfaction knowing that I don't agree with it either."

I was shocked to see a smug smile stretched across her perfectly balmed lips. She lifted her brows at me and commented, "Well at least I got a little bit of a rise out of you. That's certainly an improvement over the past few months."

Then she let out a sigh and lowered herself down the floor. She swept away the shards of ceramic with her hand and took a seat directly in front of me. Her back was leaning against the cabinets of the island when she admitted, "I don't necessarily agree with what you did, but I understand why you did it. Yes, I'm angry with you for hurting Damon and forcing him to run away from everyone, but that's not the only reason I'm upset with you."

"Then what else are you angry about?" I asked, imitating the same softness that she had just demonstrated in her voice. Having her back again made me realized how much I missed having her around and I suddenly not only wanted to fix my shattered relationship with Damon, but with her as well.

"I'm angry that you never even talked to me about it before you acted on your doubts. We're supposed to be best friends and you kept me completely in the dark," she confessed.

I reached across and grabbed onto her shoulder as I explained, "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

She furrowed her brows at me and questioned sadly, "Are you really going to sit here and lie to my face? I know that's not the only reason you didn't confide in me about it."

I always figured that Damon was the only one who could read me like an open book, but apparently Caroline had somehow learned the art of doing so as well.

Besides the obvious fact that she'd force me to confess the truth eventually, I no longer felt like I needed to lie to her. So I confessed, "Fine, I knew you'd insist I stay with him and at the time I didn't want to hear it."

She looked at me and the expression on her face was one my mother used to give me when I was younger and she was trying to teach me a lesson. "You're right, I would have and you should have at least given me that opportunity."

I removed my hand from her shoulder and rubbed it against my other one. "I know I should and I'm sorry that I didn't because maybe if I had you'd have knocked some sense into me."

She didn't comment on my statement like I expected her to, but instead remained silent. I knew exactly what she was waiting for and I was more than willing to supply it. "I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings."

Caroline shot me a weak smile, but I knew it was genuine. She then repositioned herself beside me and nudged me with her shoulder. "It's alright, you're forgiven."

We sat in silence while I wished that all relationships were as easy to repair as my one with Caroline. Unfortunately, the relationship that mattered the most was as far from repairable as possible; my execution of our dismissal had made sure of that.

"So do you want to talk about it?" Caroline questioned cautiously, pulling me from my thoughts. "I know you've talked to Bonnie, but I'm here for you if you want someone else's perspective."

Her eyes were so hopeful that I couldn't blatantly refuse her, but there was still a big obstacle that I wasn't sure I'd be able to overcome if I _did_ talk about it. "I'm not sure I can without falling apart again," I admitted.

She took my hand in between hers, and the familiar chill of her skin instantly had my eyes saturating in moisture, as she assured, "Well you've got me all day if you need me to pick up the pieces."

I'd only ever talked about the horrendous way I broke things off with Damon to Bonnie once. It was the day it had happened and not much talking had been involved. It was more of her holding me together while all of my emotions seemed to spill onto the hardwood floor below us.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to get through this conversation without ending it exactly like Bonnie's, but the urge to get it out and confide in someone other than myself for strength seemed too enticing to pass up.

So, as I felt the first tear slide down my cheek, I finally let myself unload. "It's just… I messed up, Caroline. I messed up and it hurts _so_ bad. I try not to think about him and where he is or what he's doing because it's just so _hard_. But even when I don't, he's still everywhere. And I never thought it would be feasible to feel someone so much without physically having them with you."

She laced her arm behind my back and pulled me into her as another tear crept down my cheek. I had managed to keep myself from unraveling during my confession and I felt proud, but I knew the conversation was far from over and I braced myself for its continuation.

Caroline's freehand lifted up to wipe the tear from my face as she explained, "You're always going to feel him because of the way you felt _with_ him."

It was true, even during our last month's together Damon had at least made me _feel_. It hadn't always been in a positive way, but it had always been dominant.

I shook my head and felt a new wave of tears begin to solidify when I asked, "I just wanted the chance to live a normal life, but how is that even possible when I can't seem to move on from my past?" What I really wanted to ask was how was it possible to love someone else when the last person took your heart with them and you knew they weren't coming back to you to return it.

But instead of answering my question, Caroline frowned and stated, "Elena, I need to ask you something. And I need you to really think about it, alright?"

I nodded my head even though I wasn't sure my over-stuffed brain had any more space to occupy more thoughts.

"How can you expect to live a normal life when you're not normal?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Thanks, Caroline."

She shook her head dejectedly and refuted, "It wasn't a joke. You're a human, but that's not all you are. If you were, those gaudy rings would protect you. But you're supernatural, the same way I am way and the same way Damon is. And you can't move on because you fell as deeply for him as he did for you. Trust me, you wouldn't have been able to do that if you were just human."

I could feel my lids retracting back and my eyes begin to pop as it dawned on me that what she was speaking was the truth. I had ignored all of the signs pointing in the direction of supernatural and I had done my best to ignore it, but there was no way to refute it. I wasn't just a human, so how did I ever expect to let go and love again like one?

"And that's what I would have told you if you came to me back then," she continued. "That's why I would have fought for you to stay together. Not because you were the couple I looked up to, although I did, but because you can't expect a normal life or a normal love to satisfy you after what you've been through with him." She then took an unnecessary deep breath and looked relieved as though she had been containing those words inside of her for far too long.

"You're right," was what I finally managed to get out because she was absolutely correct. There was no denying that. There wasn't any point in trying to move on because Damon was the only one who'd ever really been strong enough to claim my heart the way he had. It was the reason I'd never gotten it back and it was ridiculous to think I could have.

"I just wanted it so much back then," I confessed as my focus faded back to the moment and how sure I was of it being what I wanted. Looking back now only made my ignorance that much harder to accept as I added, "And it kills me to think of the way I did it and the way I handled everything."

"Yeah, right after he killed Stefan to save you probably wasn't the best timing on your part," she chided.

Her reminder of Stefan sent a sorrow swimming through my veins. Not the agonizing pain that was constantly present, but instead a subtle sadness. For a second I felt anger for her bringing it up and I couldn't resist expressing it. "Way to pour salt in the wound."

"I'm just being honest," she argued defensively.

I sighed and accepted that we _were_ being honest and she deserved for it to continue; we both did. "I know you are and it's what I need to hear. I just hate having it up front and center, that's all. I hate having to relive the image of how broken he was when I pushed him away and the fact that I do so right after Stefan. I was so selfish and as a result I destroyed him. I broke him, and I knew he wouldn't recover, but I let him leave anyway."

I'd finally admitted out loud what hurt me the most. I'd known all along that Damon would never bounce back from what I had done. I'd insisted to myself that he'd be able to, but I'd always known better.

I knew from past experiences what happened when I hurt Damon and this time had sure to of been the worst. It was one of the reason's I tried so desperately not think of where he was now or what he was doing or how he felt. Because no matter how far I'd fallen, he had surely fallen further.

For so long now, I had been the only one with the ability to submerge him to the deepest depths, but I was also the only one capable of bringing him back to the surface. I wasn't sure if I had the ability of doing so this time, but it was still the reason I admitted, "All I want is to fix it, the same way he fixed me so many times in the past, but I can't. Even if I could somehow find him again, he'd never be able to come back from what I did to him."

To my surprised, Caroline scoffed, "Sometimes you can be so thick." She then rolled her eyes and continued, "Damon's love for you is unconditional. He's like a fucking boomerang when it comes to you. It doesn't matter what you do to him or how much you break him, because you're always going to be the one person that can repair the damages of your own doing."

As her words sunk in, I couldn't help but feel hope towards the situation and fascinated about my best friend. She was much more observant than everyone gave her credit for and I couldn't hold back the awe in my voice as I asked, "When did you become so insightful?"

Her grey eyes twinkled in delight before she said, "I've always been, it's just no one takes me seriously enough to believe it." She then laughed at her own joke, before her face stilled and became stern. "But if you're serious about making amends, I know how you can get a hold of him."

The shock of her confession sent a shock wave through my extremities. I turned and latched onto her arm as quickly as a vampire could and asked, "What? How?"

She giggled at my excitement and admitted, "I have his new cell number. I've tried calling a million times and he's still never picked up, but for you he just might."

I kept my fury from erupting over the fact that she'd had Damon's number and never informed me of it, and instead asked, "How did you get it?"

Caroline then let out an amused laugh and responded, "It might be hard to believe since she never let on how much she approved of Damon, but Bonnie casted a spell for me about 5 months back. I was worried sick since none of us had heard anything and I just needed to hear if he was alright. Obviously, I never did, but the number still works."

I knitted my brows and admitted, "I can't believe Bonnie actually did that."

Caroline rolled her eyes and replied, "She's a judgy piece of work, but she's never disliked Damon. She just hates the idea of you becoming one of us. Which brings me to my final question." She narrowed her eyes and penetrated into me with such intensity that I felt like shying away.

"Are you willing to turn for him this time?" she asked.

Suddenly, there I was; eighteen again, but hadn't I been this way since this question had first been approached?

I felt my palms get sweaty and immediately removed them from Caroline's arm. The question made me nervous and I still had no idea how to answer it. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to become a vampire. All I knew was that I obviously couldn't survive without Damon and I'd do anything to get him back. I'd also do anything to make him happy and prove how much he was worth to me, but did that include making the ultimate change for him?

I bit my lower lip and considered lying, but decided it against it. "Would you hate me if I said I wasn't sure?" I asked her uneasily.

She shook her head and actually smiled back at me. "No, you're still somewhat human. It's natural to be nervous because it's a big decision. But it's something you need to give a lot of consideration into because if you hurt him again, I won't hesitate to turn you myself."

"Trust me when I say that I couldn't possibly hurt him again, even if I wanted to," I assured knowing I fully meant it. Damon and I were linked, we'd always been. I'd just needed to make a terrible mistake to learn the hard way that it wasn't just from me to him. Now I knew that whatever affected him, affected me just as ardently.

Caroline eyed me skeptically and questioned, "So, you've learned your lesson?"

I shook my head frantically and answered, "In the most effective way. Now give me the goddamn number!"

She let out one of her excited giggles and reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. She handed it to me and then lifted herself from the ground.

I jumped up from the floor because the possibility or repairing things with Damon had given me the ability to move again. I was no longer still from being sucked into my past, but instead moving forward with the prospect of reclaiming my future.

I vaguely heard Caroline announce, "I'm just going to wait outside; give you two a few moments alone. Just don't get your hopes up in case he doesn't answer. And if you need me for anything, I'll be right out here," as I made my way to my cell.

I had just copied his number from her phone and was about to hit send, when a flood of panic washed over me.

"Wait!" I called out to Caroline before she had the opportunity to shut the door behind her.

She turned around and lifted her brows urging me to continue on. I bit my lower lip and considered not asking the questions because I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answers, but I needed to. "Should I do this? Do I really deserve to get him back after everything? I mean, am I any better than Katherine if I drag him back to me?"

Caroline smiled back at me and all of my fears concerning her response drifted away as she replied, "If it was anyone other than you asking me than my answer would be no. But I know you love him and I know this time you'll do right by him. Don't doubt that for a minute. And as for Katherine, you are nothing like that bitch. It was a game to her, that's all. You didn't fall in love with both of them on purpose. You fell in love with the wrong one first, so that you could fall in love with the second."

Her mentioning of Stefan again had my expression sagging. I wasn't sure if I'd ever have a different reaction after his fate.

She must have noticed my change, because she continued on, "I know it hurts to think about Stefan and I understand you well enough to know you blame yourself for his death, but it wasn't your fault. None of it was. But I can guarantee you that Damon is going to give you a hard time. He's going to make you work for it because it's _Damon_ and you hurt him. So push back when he pushes you away and prove to him that you were worth the sacrifice he made for you."

She spoke everything with so much earnesty that it was impossible not to have faith in her trust. This time would be different and this time I _would_ be able to prove I was worth the sacrifice. This time would truly be about him.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around Caroline. My hold was tight because of the appreciation I felt for everything she'd done and said.

When I finally manage to pull away, I smiled at her; the first one in such a long time, and said, "Thank you."

She shot me back a reassuring smile, latched her arms onto my shoulders, and replied, "You're welcome." She then twisted around and headed out the door. Right before it closed, she poked her head back in and assured, "You can do this, Elena, and he deserves you to," before she disappeared.

With my cell clutched tightly in my hand, I took a deep breath and told myself that I could go through with this. This was Damon after all, not some stranger. He understood everything about me and as Caroline pointed out, his love was unconditional. He'd forgive me and no matter how far he'd fallen, I'd be able to pull him back out.

I'd simply made a mistake, a terrible one, but we'd be able to get through this.

As I hit send, I felt the phone tremble against my ear and suddenly felt my heart begin to beat frantically within my chest. Apparently it was still intact; it had just taken this opportunity to realize it.

The first ring vibrated against my eardrums and I clenched my jaw so tightly I wasn't sure I'd be able to dislodge it if Damon did answer.

Then the second ring came and I bit down on the inside of my cheek, desperate for some proof that this wasn't just a dream, but an _actual_ opportunity that I'd been holding my breath in hopes of obtaining.

At the sound of the third ring, I felt my body become heavy with the weight of disappointment. He wasn't going to pick up and I'd been foolish to think he would. Hadn't I learned by now that optimism was no longer worth the effort?

When the fourth ring came, I closed my eyes and felt the fluid start to rise behind my lids. I was just about to let them overflow when the phone clicked and silence met me on the other end. It wasn't the silence that came with a disconnect, but instead a silence filled with static and white noise.

I'm not sure how I knew it was him, but instinctively I did. He was right on the other side of the phone and all I wanted was the ability to reach through and pull him into me. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and make sure he knew that I would never let him fall apart again. I wanted to meld into him and reclaim what we had lost and I wanted to be the cement that kept us together instead of the jackhammer that cracked us apart.

There were so many things that I wanted, none in which were physically possible at the moment, but I could express them verbally and hope for the chance later. All I had to do was find my voice.

That was a struggle and after a stretch of endless and deafening silence, I finally managed to do so.

"Damon?" I asked in a voice barely recognizable as my own. It was weak and shaky; a perfect reflection of the person I had become, but I didn't want to hide that fact from him. He needed to know that I wasn't strong without him like I initially figured I would be.

When he didn't respond, I added more volume to my voice and repeated his name. "Damon." It felt _so_ good saying it after all of these months.

"What do want, Elena?" he asked and although his voice had been cold and distant, it was like finally breathing in a breath of fresh air after inhaling thick clouds of black smoke.

Here was my chance, the one I had been waiting for. My opportunity to tell him everything that I'd prepared, but instead the words that came out were, "I wanted to know how you are." Was that seriously what I'd said? Was I that fucking stupid?

"I'm walking on sunshine," he replied, establishing the fact that his deflective wall had firmly been constructed and I was now placed outside of it.

I sighed into the phone because I should have expected it, but it didn't make the sting any harder to handle. I wanted to be back behind that wall where so few had traveled, because it was the most familiar and comforting place I'd ever been. So, I gave it my best shot and reasoned softly, "Damon, it's me. I want to know how you're really doing."

But the walls remained firmly in place as he responded, "I have a few Delta-Nu's swimming around inside of me and I'm off to pay the big bad wolf a visit, so things could be worse."

With my original purpose of making this call fading to the back of my mind, I frantically asked, "Do you mean Klaus?"

"Well, I wasn't referring to the one in the children's book," he clarified.

All of my logical reasoning went out the door and I could only focus on how impossibly chauvinistic this vampire was. I wanted to scream at him and tell him how stupidly suicidal his mission was before it dawned on me that he wouldn't come out alive.

The fear swept through and trailed out through my lips as I cried, "You can't go after him, he'll kill you! And how do you even know where he is?"

But even my hysteria had little effect on breaking down his walls because he replied indifferently, "Tips aren't difficult to come by, especially when the wolf in question isn't trying to keep himself discreet."

He then paused for the longest second before he showed me that first ray of hope, "You might want to watch yourself, Elena, you're getting dangerously close to making me think you actually still care." The comment came across as snarky and disinterested, but I knew how to read between the lines with him.

And it was that tiny ray of hope that caused my apology to suddenly start tumbling from my lips. "But don't you see, I do. I never stopped."

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and kept my voice soft and affection. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I did to you and if you just turn around and come back home than I promise to never hurt you again." I had rehearsed this speech a million times before and it was supposed to come out perfectly. It was supposed to be heartfelt and detailed, not choppy and missing so many of its key fragments.

But unfortunately, that's how it did and I had no time to add anything else before Damon refuted in a chipper voice, "You don't need to be sorry. I was one step away from slicking gel through my hair and sparkling in the sunlight when I was with you. Hell, I was close to buying a rolling pin so we could make fucking pies together. If anything, I should be thanking you for reminding me that I wasn't created to be Susie Fucking Homemaker, but instead an _actual_ vampire."

God, how did he not see it? This was _never_ who he was, it was only the thing he reduced himself to when someone, like me, forced too much heartbreak onto him to handle.

I didn't know if I could possibly get him to realize that fact, but I at least had to try. "Damon, don't. This isn't who you are. It was real; you and me. And the person you were with me is who you really are; not this monster who manipulates and feeds off of college girls to prepare himself for a death battle against some self-righteous hybrid who's not worth your time."

"Klaus deserves this for what he did! And I'm not a person! As much as you want to believe it, I'm not. I just played the part for you," he shouted back. Apparently I had struck a nerve, which in a way was better than his cocky wall because it proved I still meant enough to get to him.

And if that were the case, then maybe I could still break through. So I screamed back, "I know you did, because you used to do anything to make me happy and back then that's what did. But that's what I'm going to get right this time. I'm choosing you because I want to live to make you happy and I can't do that if you go off and get yourself killed."

Tears had started tumbling down my cheeks and I was sure he could hear the desperation and distress in my voice, but he failed to recognize it. Instead he hid behind his goddamn wall and sarcastically noted, "That's really touching. Maybe you should write it in my eulogy. Damon Salvatore: the whipped vampire who chopped off his own balls for his girl only to have them thrown back in his face."

I couldn't believe he had disregarded the entire second half of my declaration; only to focus on the first. I was mostly disappointed, but it laced through my sizzling fury when I muttered, "Please stop being an ass."

He snickered at my statement; a callous snicker that cut straight through me, and teased, "Wasn't that one of the reasons you fell for me in the first place?"

I hated that he was being this way. I knew I hadn't exactly executed my perfect speech, or re-proven the depths of my love for him, but would it even have reached him if I did? I wasn't sure if it would, but I couldn't stop trying.

"I get that you're pissed. You have every right to be, but I can't spend an eternity making it up to you if you get yourself killed." I hadn't prepared those words in any of my speeches.

I was shocked to hear them and apparently Damon was as well because he questioned skeptically, "An eternity?"

Without hesitating, I answered, "Yes. I'll turn for you. I know now that I should have been willing to the first time," and knew I meant it. I still didn't want to be a vampire, but it didn't matter because I'd gladly give up being a mortal to save him.

Damon took a deep breath and my pulse accelerated because I knew I had broken through. Even across the radio waves of our phones, I could feel the shift in the atmosphere. "Elena," he started, voice tender in that familiar way that had my heart instantly stitching itself back together.

I waited as his pause stretched out into infinite silence and internally begged for him to continue. But then he sighed and said, "Look, even if what you're saying is the truth, I wouldn't want you to. We can't go back; not this time."

The words echoed and this time he was the one to break me. But then again, hadn't it still been because of something I started initially?

The failure and agony of hearing his finality when speaking of us, rushed out of me in jagged breaths and soaking tears. "We can," I desperately pleaded through my sobs.

I couldn't see it, but I felt his head shake back and forth and could almost see the forlorn expression on his face as he ignored my plea and said, "I've gotta go." His voice still held all of the affection he was trying so hard to bury when he added, "But just so you know Klaus can't kill me. The bastard never realized that by giving me his blood, he linked us. It's impossible for me to die by his hands."

Although, he had just assured me that his life wasn't in danger, it still felt like he was heading off for his execution. Because even though he would survive his rendezvous with Klaus and his life would continue on, he was making it perfectly clear that he would never reappear in mine.

All I could do was cry into the phone and beg, "Please, I love you. We can fix this."

But with his protective wall securely in place so I could no longer hurt him, Damon concluded, "Enjoy your normal life, Elena. I hope it's everything you wanted," and disconnected the line.

I slid to the ground for the second time today and accepted the fact that there was no going back. I'd gone too far when I'd broken Damon and in doing so I hadn't just shattered the structure of our relationship, but it appeared I had taken a sledgehammer to its very foundation and there was no longer anything left to build from.

I had just accepted this when Caroline burst through the door and flashed to my side. I wanted to be angry with her for supplying me with such a foolish optimism, but as her arms slid tightly around me, I just fell. And this time I knew it would be deeper than any other time.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_

**A/N: I have to admit, this chapter wasn't part of my original line-up. It's more of a transitional chapter and my original plan was to jump straight to the next one, but after reading your reviews and seeing some of your reactions to Elena's actions, I decided to add it.**

**I'm sorry if it was boring, but I really wanted to show how affected Elena was about her decision. And I wanted her to realize why it was so difficult to move on in the first place. But most importantly, I wanted to show how it all built up to her coming to the conclusion that she would change for Damon, not because she wanted to for herself, but because she'd be willing to do anything for him.**

**And I know the conversation between Damon and Elena in this was a little lack-luster, but we're not through just yet. **


	10. Chapter 10

**With vacation and my work pile-up when I got back home, it was really hard finding time to write and reply to reviews. So I am **_**very**_** sorry for taking so long to post this and also for not responding to many of your reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them so much and I love seeing what you guys think, so THANK YOU!**

**Huge, and I really do mean huge, time jump between this chapter and the last. But I figured you'd only want to read moments that feature Damon in them and it just seemed unrealistic for him to come back in a short amount of time.**

**Also, I know some of you wanted to hear a little more about all of the other character's lives, so I included a brief bit about them in this chapter.**

_**I hope you like it! :)**_

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><p><strong>- June 2019 -<strong>

I tightened my lips into a picture perfect grin as the photographer snapped a picture of our group. The smile wasn't forced because we'd all been counting down the days for Jeremy and Bonnie to finally tie the knot and I couldn't have been happier to welcome one of my two best friends into my family.

I squeezed Bonnie's hand as the photographer motioned for one more snapshot. She squeezed back and turned to face me; face flushed with vibrant bliss, and squealed, "We're finally sisters!"

I rolled my eyes playfully and objected, "We've always been sisters. Now it's just official."

We both giggled, which resulted in an annoyed huff from the photographer and immediately recomposed ourselves for the shot.

Once the final portrait of the night had been snapped, all of the spare guests trickled away to gather their things leaving only our essential cast. The wedding reception was over, but we were all so involved in our lives now that events like this that brought us all back together we're extremely cherished and we wanted to make it last.

To my left stood Caroline and Tyler, holding hands and discussing their activities for tomorrow. The two had become inseparable since Tyler finally moved to the big city after college and proposed. Their wedding was in October, which meant only four months until the big day and Caroline was knee deep in bridezilla mode. She'd landed her first lead roll, which still baffled us considering what she was and how inconvenient being in the public eye would be in the future. It had happened only days after his proposal and she was now juggling the stresses of that along with planning the wedding.

But being Caroline, she was doing brilliantly. She was organized, prepared, and soaring high. Her life was on the fast track, but she always made time for our girl's weekly brunches. And Bonnie and I always made time to seat ourselves in the front row of her productions to show our support.

Ric and Meredith stood directly in front of me. His hand was wrapped around her back and it was clear to see they were still completely in love with each other. I smiled, remembering the trip we'd spent searching for Damon two years ago and how the time had given me the opportunity to understand Meredith and her compassion towards the realm that encompassed our lives.

Ric had been honest with her from the start, careful not to make the same mistakes he had with Jenna, and as a result their relationship was solid. She empathized with our past and never once asked us to hide it from her and for that I was truly grateful. And it was one of the reasons she'd been so willing to offer her and Ric's assistance in my impossible year-long charade of finding my vampire. We'd been unsuccessful of course, but instead of regaining Damon I'd managed to gain another friend.

Laughter sounded from my left and I turned to take in the sight of the glowing newlyweds. I had never seen my brother so delighted and my heart swelled at the notion that Bonnie was the one he had ended up with.

Jeremy was now a graphic artist working for Virgin Records and most of the CDs that covered the shelves in the stores had been designed by him. Bonnie had followed her grandmother's footsteps and taught a few classes at NYU. They all involved history, folklore, and witchcraft, and didn't often consist of more than 10-15 students, but she was happy and they made her feel closer to her heritage.

The only two people that weren't here were – well, I wouldn't let myself think about that and I especially wouldn't allow myself to think about whose arm should have been interlocked with mine at this very second. No; I definitely wouldn't think about that. Not right now.

Almost as if sensing I needed some strength, Bonnie turned in my direction and shot me an eye-squinting smile. I pulled myself out of my mini-funk and smiled back at her when my date slipped his hand through mine. "Are you ready to get going?" he asked.

The others had already started gathering their things, so I nodded my head and replied, "Yeah. Let me just say goodbye to everyone," and made my way through the circle.

Once all of the proper goodbyes and hugs had been given, we waved down a taxi and headed for my apartment.

My date's name was Brandon and he was forced onto me by Bonnie. She worked with him at the office and refused to let me attend her wedding without an amicable bachelor on my arm. I'd obliged because the idea of sitting at the table while all of my friends danced with their dates wasn't exactly appealing and it wasn't like he was the first guy I'd gone on a date with since Damon's dismissal from my life. Of course they'd all been for recreational fun and never anything serious because my past made it impossible to ever give up holding onto _him_.

I stared out the window and watched the buildings fly by as my thoughts drifted back to my past. It had taken me a year and a half to move on from my own personal destruction. That first year was spent with Ric and Meredith scowering the country in hopes of any sign that could point us in the right direction of Damon. The trip had been a bust and afterwards I'd felt drained; not just physically but emotionally drained as well. So much time had been spent and so much optimism had been wasted on a lost cause that when I arrived home, I let myself sink back down into that familiar emotional hole again.

Then six months passed before I found the ability to piece together my life again. It was still an incomplete puzzle with random shapes missing throughout, but there were still enough pieces to create a solid structure.

A few more months had passed when I'd actually picked up writing again and finally found the capability to finish my first novel. I ended the last chapter exactly how I should have ended, or restarted, my relationship with Damon; with the promise of eternity.

Since the vampire phenomenon was still, miraculously, in full blast, I'd sent it to my publisher on a whim and was surprised to hear she was still interested in printing the piece. A few edits were made the following weeks and I became a published author; a successful one too. Four more books had been added to the series since the first and instead of feeling the sting of my past while writing them, I instead felt comfort.

Having that world flow through my fingertips felt natural; it always had. And once I'd embraced that it was because it was _my_ world; the one I'd denied for so long, but now knew I was as big a part of as I could possibly be, everything suddenly became easier. These books were my way of keeping it alive in the seemingly "normal" existence I had fought so valiantly to obtain. But, most importantly, they were my way of keeping Damon a part of it after he'd made it so very crystal that he no longer would be.

And yeah, maybe I hoped Damon had stumbled upon them at some point so that he could see the way my feelings towards him poured out onto each page, but I wasn't holding my breath.

So that's where I stood now. I was one of those 3D puzzles missing a few pieces, who was content for the most part, but still a bit shaky from time to time. I'd relearned how to stand on my own two feet again without the assistance of a vampire by my side, but a heavy breeze always threatened to bring my pieces toppling over.

I saw my apartment building slide into my line of vision and suddenly realized that I hadn't said a word to my date the entire way home. I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment over how rude I must have appeared, but if Brandon took offence he didn't reveal it. He stepped out of the cab and opened my door, allowing me to exit. He then told the cab driver to wait and shut the door behind me.

"I had a great time tonight," he said as he took one of my hands in his.

Honestly, I'd had a great time with him as well. He was very attractive, had a great personality, and made me feel comfortable. It had been one of those unblemished first dates that normal women dream about, but unfortunately I wasn't most women.

Brandon was a catch, there was no denying that. But the warmth of his skin felt unnatural, the shade of his blue eyes wasn't quite right, and his brown hair was short instead of untidy in that way that shaped the features of his face to perfection. Point was, he wasn't Damon and therefor had no chance of obtaining my heart.

Of course, I'd long since accepted that Damon wasn't coming back to rekindle what we had, but that didn't mean I had it in me to start a relationship with someone else. My heart forever belonged to Damon, whether he came back to reclaim it or not, and I'd accepted that fact a long time ago.

But before I had a chance to respond to Brandon's comment, he leaned in and kissed me. The kiss wasn't bad; in all honesty he was a great kisser. His lips moved with ease against mine and the act felt nice. But that was it; just nice. Fire didn't erupt and there was no rocket's red glare, only the sweet sensation of his lips against mine.

When he pulled away, I shot him an appreciative smile and concluded, "Thank you for a wonderful evening." I then turned and headed into the building without offering up my phone number. I could feel his eyes on me as I entered the doors and when I rode the elevator up to the top floor I momentarily felt bad for not giving him an explanation for why I wasn't interested. It wasn't his fault and I didn't want him to think it was, but I figured I'd have Bonnie talk to him once she came back from her honeymoon.

My hands instantly became sweaty as I stepped foot off of the elevator and onto my floor. It didn't make sense, but as I slipped my key into the lock of my door, I found myself anxious to get inside. I quickly turned the metal until I heard it click and pushed open the door. Then I flipped on the light only to have my heart skip a beat and resume with a pulse rate at least doubled what it had previously been.

Damon was seated in one of my bar stools with his elbows rested against my island countertop. He had a drink, probably concocted from the stash he'd left behind that I very rarely took advantage of, in his left hand that was halfway finished.

He looked exactly the same, but of course he did. His leather jacket, steel grey V-neck t-shirt, and dark jeans clung to his sculpted body, enhancing what rested underneath. His jet black hair fell in random chunks around his face and he was breathtakingly striking.

His demeanor screamed bad boy with a reckless confidence, but I knew what really hid underneath and I waivered hesitantly in the doorway unsure which version of him would grace my presence.

I got my answer when Damon didn't look at me. He simply held his drink in the air and deadpanned, "He seemed like a real prince charmer." The statement had been edged with jealousy, bitterness, and a bit of cynicism as he brought his glass to his lips and took another swig.

The verbal whip slashed across my chest and I hated the fact that Damon had seen me with another guy, especially since it so rarely happened, when in reality a large chunk of my time was still spent transfixed on him. It would always be.

I just stared back at him, unsure of how to physically or verbally approach the vampire I'd been begging to have reappear like this. My heels remained firmly adhered to my hardwood floors and I wished that my arms were elastic so I could stretch them out to him. His face was so shadowed, but it did little to shade the splendor that consistently lit up his face and all I wanted was to run my fingertips down the dips and contours I'd ached for throughout the years.

I bit my lower lip and felt my eyes narrow as tiny droplets of energized moisture developed in the centers and begged he wasn't a figment of my imagination because there was no way in hell this vampire would ever have appeared in my, our, apartment like this.

He took another sip of his drink and spoke again, "You can wipe the perplexed look from your face. I'm not a mirage and you're not dreaming; you've got me in the flesh." He then turned to look at me and my heart abruptly stopped beating in my chest. I'm sure it had something to do with the arrow he shot from his eyes with the precision that never failed to miss its mark on my heart. God, I was such an easy and willing target that it was impossible for him to miss.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" I questioned just slightly above a breathy whisper and immediately regretted it. The last time I'd asked that question of a vampire I hadn't seen in four years things had ended terribly and it wasn't an ending I wanted to recreate; especially not with _this_ vampire.

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Curiosity, boredom, nostalgia. Take your pick."

My shoulders sagged and I let out a sigh. I didn't want to play this game, not with him, not after all of this time. "Damon," I tried to softly reason.

"Elena," he mocked back.

I shook my head slowly back and forth and removed my heels because the bases of my feet were killing me. I then let them drop to the floor and shut my door before making my way to the opposite side of the island. I wanted nothing more than to join him, but I knew he was nowhere near ready to have me in that close of proximity just yet.

As I leaned my back against my countertop, I felt like my heart was going to jump right through my chest, across the space separating us, and into the palm of his hand. I wanted to start confessing everything that was still locked inside of me, but I couldn't just yet. Because that wasn't the way you handled the arrogant Damon Salvatore. What I had to do was sit back and wait for that wall to crumble so that I could ensure my words got through.

So instead of speaking the words I had really wanted to say, I instead stated, "You obviously came here for a reason and I hardly think it's fair to play this game considering how long it's been since I've talked to you."

"But it's so much fun," he replied with a faux sense of enthusiasm. He then took another sip of his drink and lifted it out into my direction. With his head cocked to the side and that signature smirk of his plastered across his face, he added, "And I didn't think it was very fair of you to throw my heart into a blender and set the speed to liquefy, but that didn't stop you did it?"

Verbal attack number two slashed across my chest and I cringed at the contact. I lowered my eyes to the ground, not sure if I could face his chiseled expression when speaking of what I had done to him and replied slowly, "No it didn't and I'm sorry for that."

Then something switched in my thought process and I realized that he was here, which was certainly an improvement over our last conversation. He was still as unresponsive as ever, but he had to of been here for a reason. I didn't let my hope drift too high and still kept the frown curved across my lips when I looked up at him and softly declared, "You know I am."

He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do I?"

I shrugged my shoulders and prayed like hell this was headed where I was hoping it would and answered, "Yeah, I think you do."

Those crystalline eyes penetrated into mine for the longest time, but then they broke away from the string of contact pulled between us and I knew the direction was about to change. Damon let out an unnecessary sigh and for a short second I could see the damaged creature he'd hidden behind his sarcastic wall as he finished the dwindling contents of his drink and admitted, "I never found Klaus. I've spent the past four years searching for a lunatic I assumed would want me dead for killing his little protégé only to come up empty handed."

This wasn't exactly what I wanted to talk about when our big elephant still consumed the majority of the space in the room, but it was clear to see he needed someone and I guess I was the only one he had. He must have reached one hell of a pit to get here, but I was more than willing to help him out of it. Plus, I'd gladly do anything to keep the melodious sound of his voice streaming through my ears.

So I put my wants aside and played the part I needed to at the moment; the friend with reason. "Maybe that's a good thing," I disputed.

He shot me an incredulous look and questioned cynically, "You don't honestly believe that do you?"

Miraculously, it was easy keeping my levels at bay when I answered, "I believe you want revenge for what Klaus did to Stefan because we all do, but you said the two of you were linked. Didn't you ever consider that since he was unable to kill you that you'd be unable to kill him?" Damon had consumed quite a bit of my brain waves over the past years, so I'd given this a ton of thought.

He flashed to his old liquor cabinet and was back seated with a full glass of brown liquid before I had time to switch my weight from one leg to the other. He then took a long drink and shot me one of his cocky smiles. "Of course I did, but the opportunity to give him a good ass whooping was still available."

I knew Damon so much better than he was giving me credit for and I couldn't resist calling him out on it. "You'd have still felt unsatisfied because it wouldn't have been enough. And he's stronger than you so inevitably you would have gotten hurt."

I then took a deep breath and knew I was being selfish, but I couldn't contain what I wanted to say. I took a step forward, placed my hands on the island counter, threw as much concern into my voice as humanly possible, and asked, "Do you understand how scared for you I've been?"

He laughed at me. It was a bitter cold laugh that frosted my insides. He then shook his head from side to side and wore his amused grin as he countered, "No. You don't get to do that. You don't reserve the right to feel nervous for my sake because you made it all too clear that I meant nothing to you."

Apparently my words had slammed into a brick wall. The timing wasn't right, but I had to offer him something to latch onto that could send this conversation in the right direction. Frustration boiled under my surface and I tried my best to keep it under control, but I was having a difficult time as I replied, "And then I told you how much of a monumental fuck up that had been. I tried to apologize, but you threw your sarcasm back in my face because you didn't want to hear it."

"That's because you didn't deserve for me to hear it!" he shouted back. Apparently I'd managed to break through a bit because I'd learned in the past that when Damon got angry it meant you got through. I didn't like being the recipient of his anger, but I figured that at least we were confronting the issue.

Damon rolled his eyes at me and frantically shook his head from side to side as he continued to scream at me. "Jesus, Elena, you broke whatever chunk of a heart I still had left in me after all of the shit that we'd put each other through and expected me to come crawling back after some tear spilled apology."

How could he not see that he wasn't the only one I broke in the process? Desperation for him to accept this notion flowed through my limbs mixing with my previous irritation at this stubborn vampire as I shouted back, "And in the process I broke my own heart and had to live with that everyday! I haven't exactly been the poster child for 'It's A Wonderful Life," Damon, and I know what I did was a mistake because not one day has gone by where I haven't thought of you and the life I gave up."

My fingers had become balled into fists and they were trembling against the countertop. I was infuriated because yes, I'd made a mistake, but so had he; many times in the past. I hadn't always forgiven him right away, but damnit I hadn't made him wait four years for it. So I threw my frustration into my voice and accused, "And I expected you to come back because I thought you of all people would understand the mistake of making an impulsive decision!"

He slammed his glass against the countertop causing a line to crack up the side. This didn't startle me in the least because our fights always increased to this intensity. Items always got broken and hearts were always bare and exposed. If my voice rose, so did his and vice versa; we were always matched. But the difference between this fight and our others from the past was that there was no certainty that he wasn't going to walk away afterwards.

The fact terrified me as I watched the alcoholic contents of his glass slowly start to leak through onto the countertop and he argued, "That wasn't impulsive! You'd been considering it for months. But I have to know, why did you choose the moment after I killed my brother to cut the fucking cord?"

His accusatory stare struck right through me and his armor was up. I could see that there was no plausible way I would walk away from this fight the victor, neither one of us would. We'd both only walk away more damaged than before and I couldn't bear the thought of hurting him again, especially considering how damaged he was when he arrived tonight.

So I lowered my voice and removed my eyes from that cold stare of his and declared, "I don't want to clear this up this way. Not with us screaming about it the way we are because it's not going to get through to you anyway."

But apparently this was exactly the way Damon had wanted to clear everything up because he shouted back, "Well it's now or never, Elena. Here's your chance and if you don't take it now I'm not sure the opportunities ever going to come knocking at your door again."

I wasn't sure if he just needed someone to fight with and he knew my fiery nature and desperation to fix things would be a good match for him or if he really wanted to repair the damage and this was the only way possible. Regardless of his reason, I couldn't let him walk out of the door with the chance that he might never reappear again. I'd already gone down that road and look at where it had left me.

I really wasn't sure if anything I said would get through that well-crafted security gate of his, but my desperation and frustration spiraled together as I screamed, "Fine! I did it then because I saw Stefan lying on the floor and blamed myself for bringing you two into the mess I had. I screwed around with him and then moved onto you when he wasn't around and hated myself for it."

The tiniest ting of a flinch rippled across his expression and I realized that my words hadn't come out the way I had expected them to. So I clarified, "But not because I'd moved onto you, but because I felt like I'd toyed with you both the way Katherine had and I thought that by letting you go I'd spare you the need to risk your neck for me only to get yourself killed like he had."

Damon stood up from his bar stool and jolted his index finger in my direction. If he had the ability I'm sure fireballs would have shot in my direction because that's how much heat was radiating from those blue irises of his as he accused, "That's not the only reason and you know it!"

But I matched his fire with as much fury and shouted back, "I wasn't finished yet!"

The blaze left his eyes and he actually appeared amused by my heightened state of intensity. I knew he'd always appreciated my ability and determination to stand strong against him considering he could snap my frail little body like a twig if he chose to, but I failed to see how he could appreciate something as minute as that while this argument was happening between us.

"Well by all means, go ahead," he urged as a smug smile played across his lips. He set his leaking drink onto the counter top and sat back down into the chair.

I couldn't help but notice that he was enjoying this scene and part of me wondered if it was because, for once, the roles were reversed. So many times he'd been the one begging for forgiveness and while a part of me wanted to slap him for enjoying my floundering, the larger part of me wanted to make the most of the situation.

So I calmed my nerves and felt the heat of his spotlight against my face as I gave it my best go. "Before I do, I need you to know that I _am_ sorry for pushing you away after Stefan. It was beyond terrible for me to do and I shouldn't have let you go off alone. You've always been there for me in the past and it wasn't fair of me to throw what you had just done back in your face. You saved my life and in return I pretty much said that it was for nothing. I know I hurt you and the timing was all wrong and if I could take it back I would."

I stared at him, desperate for some acknowledgment that he'd actually heard a word I'd just spoken, but he narrowed his eyes and said nothing. So I just took it as my cue to continue on.

I took another deep breath and spoke from my heart because a rehearsed speech wouldn't possibly be enough to get my point across. "But I also did it because I felt like I had never been given the opportunity to live a normal life and I wanted it more than anything. For so long my world had revolved around you and Stefan and I wanted the chance to live it for myself. I needed to see if it was possible to separate myself from your world because the idea of simply handing over my humanity on a silver platter, especially after so many people fought and died to keep it intact, scared the shit out of me."

Damon rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well I'm glad the idea of spending the rest of eternity with me terrified you."

He was so stubborn that it was infuriating, but I understood why he could misinterpret my actions that had ripped us apart and I needed him to understand. "Don't you see, it was never about being terrified to spend the rest of my life with _you_, Damon. I was terrified of being frozen in time and I wasn't ready to give up everything I wanted for my future. But then you left and everything suddenly came into focus. I still regret the way I ended things, and I will always regret what happened to Stefan, but I needed to be separated from you in order to understand that I'm not normal and I have no chance in hell of ever being satisfied with everything I originally thought I would be."

I saw the first bits of his exterior crumble and fall away as I began to let out the last bit of my heartfelt declaration. "I've only ever _really_ felt normal when I was with you. Because I'm living this life now that's on the exact same track it would have been if we'd stayed together, but it's missing all of the highs that you brought to it. I'm 26 and single; that guy out there was no one because I've never let go of you and I have no desire to make myself available to anyone else. So don't you see, I'm no longer scared of being physically trapped for an eternity because with you I'm always going to live exactly the type of life I wanted to and I'm always going to be moving forward."

I watched him hopefully for any sign that my declaration had made an impact as the tears trickled down my face.

The edged features of Damon's softened a bit as he looked down at the countertop and sighed. "Do you know what cut the deepest? It was the fact that you expected me to ask you to turn, which proved you didn't understand me at all. Even from the beginning you were the only one with the capability to pull out the humanity in me. You always pushed me to embrace it because you were the _only one_ that believed it was still there. Before you I'd buried it so far down because I missed the way it felt being a human and the pain was unbearable. But everytime I was around you it seeped out a little more and you fell for me just a little bit harder until I finally stopped fighting it. I gave in and it no longer hurt because you made me realize that feeling my humanity and the pain didn't coincide."

He then finally looked back up to face me directly, all of the anger and resistance had vanished leaving only the sadness that I had the capability of pulling from him as he continued, "So don't you see, I would have never asked you to turn for me because I've always missed being what you are. I loved you and I loved you even more for giving me the opportunity to live that lifestyle with you. You gave me everything that had been taken from me a century and a half ago. And I loved you enough to never force that type of decision onto you because I know the regret that comes after it. All I wanted was to spend the better part of a century with you."

"I'm sorry, I never knew that," I replied weakly.

He looked at the countertop and started drawing lines in the spilled liquid with his fingertip. I watched and waited for his next line when his eyes finally latched back onto mine. "That's because I never told you. But it stayed with me. Everywhere I went, and everything I did, you were still in the back of my mind forcing me to remember that I didn't have to fully embrace what I was because I had the ability to be better. I couldn't switch it off and I was so angry with you for causing that change and then stepping away and leaving me to deal with the results."

I couldn't fight the urge anymore, and maybe it had something to do with the fact that his confession hadn't included any witty one-liners and that his wall was no longer established, but I suddenly found myself crossing the divider to his side of the island. I didn't stop until I rested inches from where he sat. My hand lifted to touch his face before I realized where it was headed and slammed it back against my side.

_Restraint, Elena. One step at a time._

"I was scared, Damon; you have to understand that." I pleaded because there was no going back now and he _had_ to understand. "I never wanted to hurt you and it killed me knowing I did. I'm so sorry that it took all of this for me to understand that you were the only thing I wanted for my future and that I'd do anything to keep you. I'll turn, I'll stay this way. Whatever you want, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that I have _you_."

His eyes narrowed, but the tiny spark in his eyes ignited as he questioned skeptically, "You'd seriously turn for me if I asked you to?"

I nodded my head and answered, "Without hesitation because I know now that no matter what, I'm always going to choose you." Because after all of this time and after everything he'd been through, someone needed to. And I forever would.

Damon lifted his hand slowly to cup the side of my cheek and I felt the missing pieces of my puzzle fitting into place. As my heart picked up its pace at his touch, he misread the reason and his eyes began to drift over me in search of any sign that my statement had been fabricated. But I knew I had nothing to fear because I'd meant every word of it and that's exactly what he'd see.

Our faces rested inches from each other's. His mouth was a fierce magnet forcing vibrations from the metal fillings of my childhood as they fought to drag my lips closer to his. But I resisted because this was his choice to make. I'd laid my cards on the table and it was up to him whether he chose to accept me or not.

So I waited and watched the uncertainty waiver across Damon's features. He was stuck somewhere between unsure and 100% where I was. I breathed in and out so many times that I wasn't sure he would ever come to a decision, but then the uncertainty disappeared clearing way for the radiance of his love that I had missed so much.

He inched closer and I suddenly found myself caught in suspension. Time seemed to slow down as my yearning for his lips to be on mine increased to astronomical proportions. As my breathing became ragged, I saw a flicker of his blue eyes before his lashes drifted down to cover them and mine followed suit.

Then his lips were on mine. Tender and soft and everything I had remembered they'd been. It was one of those universe long, slow rediscovery kisses that had my insides igniting in lust and my need to never let him go expanding for miles. Because it had happened; Damon and I had reunited and the fire burning inside of my belly was stronger than ever.

There was no way in hell I would ever take this feeling or Damon for granted again.

That fire exploded as our lips pushed more roughly against each other. The motions transitioned from sweet to passionate as we each fought for dominance over who would get the first taste. Damon's ultimately won out as my lips parted to allow him entry into my mouth. His tongue struck with precision and swirled with mine in that familiar dance we'd both been dying to finish.

Within seconds my breathing became heavy, my kisses became sloppy, and my hands were frantically roaming his body. But it was alright, because everything stood true for him as well.

When the desire became too much, Damon pulled me into his lap and slid my dress up so that I could straddle him appropriately. I could feel all of him trying to break free from under his jeans against my center and I pushed into him as my hands tangled themselves in his locks.

I slid back and forth as his hands gripped onto the fabric of my expensive bridesmaids dress and ripped the thing down to mid-length. One hand moved to white-knuckle my hip, aiding in my motions against his manhood, while the other massaged my overly-sensitive breast.

His lips broke free of mine and I leaned back and moaned as they made contact with the side of my neck. There was a mixture of warm tongue strokes and hard fang scrapes as I pulled him further into my skin. Everything about the act was carnal, hungry, desperate, and I couldn't get him close enough.

I tightened his strands through my fingers and felt myself get sucked further into our emotional twister when even the breeze seemed to pick up around us. But then I felt my back slam against something solid and cold; the refrigerator.

As Damon's lips came crashing against mine, he ripped the remaining pieces of my dress and threw them haphazardly through the air. I felt my panties slide from my body in one swift motion and before I had time to prepare myself, he was inside of me. My down below had seen less action than a nunnery over the past four years and I was astonished at how swiftly he had been able to slide in. But I let out a wicked gasp as he filled me, reclaiming what was his, and shuddered at the sensation of once again being melded into one.

His lips devoured mine as Damon began moving in an out and it took everything I had not to release from the impact. His thrusts were fast and rough, driven by his overwhelming desire to satisfy his deprivation, but nothing else would have sufficed for me either at this point. I didn't want it gentle. I wanted the demon that lurked underneath because when it combined with the softer angelic side of him later, the precise mixture of both was what really made him extraordinarily special.

I held onto the back of his neck for dear life as he repeatedly slammed into me. As his hips shifted and he started stroking that perfect spot, I ripped my lips from his and cried out his name. I tried to wrap my legs around his torso, but they'd become jello and only had the ability of swaying back and forth to his rhythm.

My breathing was coming out in jagged gasps, when I felt myself teetering that blissful edge. My inner walls were singing in pleasure and I knew only a few more strokes would send me crashing through the solar system when Damon latched his hand onto the strands directly above my neck.

He forced me to look directly into his ocean blue eyes and growled, "I need _all_ of you."

I knew exactly what he wanted and there was nothing I would deny him, especially this. So as his length slid along my insides, I rolled my eyes from the pleasure and managed to reply, "Whatever I have is yours."

I barely felt the air swirl around us as my back fell onto the bed. All I could feel was the superb way he hit my sweet spot and the desire to keep myself going like this forever. I bit my lower lip and managed to crack my eyes open as Damon's transitioned into black.

His mouth arched open and the mere sight of his fangs, with the intention of lodging themselves into my neck, was enough to send me over the edge. I moaned his named as his fangs pierced through my skin and my inner walls clamped down. I shattered into a million tiny pieces underneath of him and with each pull from my bloodstream, I broke a little more. With each suck, I rode a new wave. And with each new wave, I called out his name.

After the fourth pull, Damon dislodged his fangs. He picked up the pace as his grunts became out background music and seconds later he had reached his own climax along with another one of mine. We shuddered against each other and I gripped my nails into his back, pushing my body as flush against his as humanly possible.

He finally let out an unnecessary breath of air as our bodies relaxed into a satisfied humming state. My body was covered in sweat and as he pulled out and rolled beside me, I twisted into him and absorbed the relief it offered.

His arm slid behind my back and I rested my head where his heart should have been beating, listening to the silence that came from within. The absence of sound was soothing and I couldn't believe that it had ever been a justifiable reason to let him go.

His hand swept through the chestnut ribbons of my hair and I smiled because I was back where I belonged. Nothing about this could be more right and I couldn't wait to spend the rest of eternity together with him.

With my head still resting against his chest and my eyes closed, I laced my arm around the front of his stomach and confessed, "God, I missed you so much."

There was a stretch of silence as his hand continued working its way through my hair. I felt myself clench with the notion that this had just been a physical thing and not the promise of rekindling eternity like I had assumed. But then he finally responded, "I missed you too."

A smiled spread across my lips and I twisted myself around so that I could peer up at him. I pulled my arms into triangles across his toned chest and rested my chin on top of my stacked hands. He stared down at me with the same smile I was shooting in his direction when I asked, "So where does this leave us?"

Damon shrugged and then wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up so that I was close enough to see every feature that covered his face. "I've given you my fair share of fuck-ups in the past, so it was only a matter of time before you returned the favor. So, I guess you're forgiven."

He then shot me his signature smirk and his eyes had the glimmer they'd been missing when I first saw him today. The sight nearly took my breath away and I swore to myself that I would never let that gleam disappear again.

"Well, you don't have to worry about any more from me," I declared. "I love you and I promise to make it unconditional for eternity."

As the words left my lips, there was a brief moment of discomfort on Damon's expression before he masterfully hid it behind his adoration. The average human would never have picked up on the brief flicker, but Damon was an open book to me and every action of his played out in slow motion.

I chalked the uncertainty up to my previous actions. It would take some time to earn back all of Damon's trust the way I had it before and I'd known this fact coming in. But the act still made me nervous about my ability in doing so.

But then he pushed his face forward and his lips pressed against mine. When he pulled away he smiled at me, the same way he used to; face lighting up with everything he felt, and declared, "I love you too." And I knew that we we're going to be alright.

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><p><em><strong>Please read and review. :)<strong>_

**I've finally figured out the remaining in-between steps to reaching my ending, so there are three chapters left in this thing. Two chapters will be of the future and the last will be when Elena returns to the present.**


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter has left me with a consistent headache for the past 5 days, which is sad because it was just supposed to be a transitional one that built up to the grand finale of future moments in the next chap. I had terrible writers block in the beginning and then once it was actually completed, it didn't seem to say exactly what I wanted it to. After many read throughs and additions of text, I'm still not 100% satisfied. It still doesn't read completely right to me, and I'm sorry if it sucks. So please, please be gentle when reviewing.**

**Huge thanks to _bibi 13ca_ for all of her help with this chapter. You seriously rock girl!**

_**Hopefully you still like it.**_

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><p><strong>- August 2020 -<strong>

I pushed the fabric covering the French doors in Ric and Meredith's kitchen to the side and glanced out into my old backyard. There were about 50 people either seated or standing and holding conversations amongst themselves, but I was only searching for one. My eyes frantically darted through the crowd until I finally spotted him towards the front of the isle holding a conversation with Sherriff Forbes.

Damon looked dazzling in his tux and as I watched him from inside the compounds of my old house I felt that all-familiar smile creep across my lips. Because we were doing this. We were _actually_ getting married.

I never imagined that this day would come. Of course, I'd dreamt about my wedding day since I was old enough to put cohesive thought fragments together, but my 12 year old self would have never believed me if I told her she would be marrying a vampire; especially this one. Because in my visions, I was always marrying a gorgeous blonde haired, blue eyed prince, dressed in a signature princess poof dress, at one of those colossal cathedrals.

_At least I'd got the blue eyes portion right._

Instead of a cathedral, we'd settled for my old backyard. I had so many fond memories here from my childhood that when Damon suggested it as our location, I immediately agreed. It might not be massive, but it was intimate and much more appropriate for a wedding like ours.

Instead of the princess ball gown, I was fitted into my mother's old wedding dress. It was a strapless ivory gown that billowed down to the floor in loose ripples of chiffon fabric. The delicate beading around my waistline was subtle, but just enough to add a bit of sparkle when I took my first step into the backyard.

And then there was the element that really made this version of my wedding day a million times better than my original; in this version I got Damon instead of a one-dimensional prince whom I'm sure would have failed to live up to my expectations anyway.

Because I knew love was a luxury; especially the type of love Damon and I shared. It was a type of luxury that didn't just fall into the palm of your hands, but one you had to work for and fight for before it molded into something perfectly extraordinary. And we'd done it.

It had taken years to get to this point. Hearts had been broken, egos had been wounded, and violent words had been spilled, but our destructive war ended the day he stepped back into my life and the day we'd both finally been honest. I expected a few random shots from Damon after that ceasefire, but apparently he'd meant it when he said I was forgiven.

There had been no adjustment period before we both fell back into that blissfully happy state again. After everything and after all of that time, we'd gotten to the bright light at the end of our destructive tunnel and we'd both learned what was really important. We'd made it out alive and neither one of us had any intention of taking a step back inside because we were getting it right this time; _I _was getting it right this time.

My eyes never wavered from Damon as his finally turned and made contact. I knew I should have worried about him seeing me in my wedding dress twenty minutes before the appropriate time, but that fact was the furthest from my mind. Truth be told, none of the little details about this day mattered. The only one that did was staring back at me with eyes resembling the endless days of bright blue skies that I knew would forever grace our future and a grin stretched across his lips.

He was reflecting as much happiness as I had pumping through my system and the effect left him with a childish innocence. It was hard to believe that _this_ vampire, with all of his biting wit and rough exterior could ever appear this innocently jovial, but it was that vision that had my hands lifting up into the shape of a heart and my lips mouthing the words, "I love you."

He laughed and rolled his eyes at my teenage performance, but immediately afterwards he mouthed the words 'I love you too.' I smiled one of those over the top toothy grins that had my eyes squinting and my happiness stapled across my face for the whole world to see when I was ripped from the glass.

"You know he's not supposed to see you in your dress before the wedding, Elena!" Caroline chastised in a pitch high enough to shatter glass.

I rolled my eyes because she was being a bit overdramatic and argued, "I'm marrying a vampire; I hardly think traditional rules apply."

She crossed her arms defensively over her chest and scoffed, "I've gone to great lengths making this day elegant and perfect for you, so the least you can do is humor me, okay?"

I sighed because she was right and she deserved a little cooperation from my end. Caroline had appointed herself as my wedding planner the day Damon and I re-announced our engagement. Although I had really wanted to plan everything about this day solo, I didn't argue for two reasons. One: I didn't want to face her disgruntled reaction and the backlash that followed if I declined her offer. And two: I figured that after everything she'd done for me during Damon's absence, that her insight and dedication to the project of my relationship might come in handy. Plus, I owed her one and she was just _so_ excited to help.

To my surprise, I didn't regret it afterwards. Since she'd just recently planned her own wedding, everything was still fresh on her mind and all of the necessary wedding contacts were still listed in her phone. She never once fought me when I spoke the word simple and she'd managed to fill the void of not having my mother around during the process. We'd made a great team and I realized that instead of doing her a favor, she'd actually done another one for me.

It was because of her that this day actually happened, and that so many people were here supporting the decision. So, I wrapped my arms around my spastic maid-of-honor vamp and conceded, "Okay, and thank you again for all of this. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

She gave me a tight squeeze, pulled away, and joked, "Isn't that the truth."

We both giggled as my second maid of honor walked into the kitchen.

"Alright, Elena, I know I'm early, but I wanted to give you the first part of your gift before the wedding actually happens," Bonnie announced as she held out a tiny box in my direction.

I took the box and narrowed my eyes in her direction. "I told you not to buy me a gift."

She shook her head and wore an amused grin as she ordered, "Calm down and just open it."

After a roll of my eyes, I removed the ribbon from the tiny box and lifted the top only to find my engagement ring contained inside. I quickly glanced at my bare finger just to make sure my assumptions were correct and then shot her an incredulous look. "How did you…"

But I was cut off when Caroline busted into giggles beside me and answered, "Being a vampire really has its upside. You didn't even notice when I swiped the thing from your finger ten minutes ago."

With my confused expression still masking my features, I shifted my eyes between my two best friends and waited for an explanation.

Caroline's giggles continued to echo from my left when Bonnie smiled at me on the right and explained, "I bewitched the ring for when you turn. I know it's going to happen soon and since we haven't always seen eye to eye on the issue, I wanted to let you know that I'm behind your decision."

My eyes glazed over as I listened to Bonnie's words, without a hint of disdain creasing her forehead when speaking them. I was in total shock. I knew after enough teeth pulling, Bonnie would eventually cast the spell for my day ring, but I never expected her to actually approve of my decision.

I was awestruck and the airy consistency of my voice represented this fact as I confessed, "I can't believe you did this for me. Thank you."

She shrugged her shoulders as though it was no big deal, and replied, "You managed to make Damon decent and somehow he makes you happy, so I figured it was time for me to throw in the white flag." She then smiled at me as she added, "I'm sad to see you turn to the dark side, but at least I know I'll always have Jeremy."

I wrapped my arms around her appreciatively and assured, "You'll _always_ have me too."

We clung to each other for a few seconds before we pulled away and I slipped the ring back onto the appropriate finger. I then held it up in her direction and declared, "Perfect fit."

Bonnie nodded her head slowly and mused, "It is."

I smiled as I looked down at the ring and everything it now represented. It was fitting that Bonnie had chosen _this_ ring to enchant because it was the reason I was choosing this life of eternity in the first place. My love for Damon was exponential and life-altering in the most liberal sense and I couldn't have asked for a greater gift from my best friend.

I finally managed to pull my eyes from the ring, looked up at Bonnie, and asked, "Would you mind telling Damon before the ceremony? I know the gift would mean a lot to him."

The disgruntled creases in her forehead appeared at _that_ request, but before she had the chance to oppose, I begged, "Please, for me?"

With my puppy dog eyes in full effect, I saw her resistance dissipate. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she made her way towards the back door. "You're lucky I'd do anything for you," she groaned as she stepped foot into the backyard.

"And me for you!" I called after her as I made my way to spy on Damon's reaction to the news.

Truth was, we'd only had one conversation concerning my transitioning into a vampire to be with him forever. It'd taken place the day after we reconciled and, to my surprise, Damon hadn't been behind my decision. When I brought up the topic, his face registered that same uncomfortable pain it had the day before and he argued that there were still moments he wanted me to experience as a human and that the timing was too soon.

I resisted my general urge to fight the issue further because I understood that the timing _was_ too soon. We'd just reunited and I still needed to prove that my heart was forever invested in the well-being of his. So, I'd let the issue remain settled at that and just focused my attention on upholding my previous promise.

By now, enough time had to of passed for Damon to change his mind on the issue because I'd done nothing but prove my devotion to him and as a result, our relationship was stronger than ever. We'd always had an understanding of the other, but with everything out in the air, our relationship was more resilient than ever before.

This fact was solidified when Damon approached me with my old engagement ring and popped the question again. He wouldn't have done that if he wasn't ready for me to make the ultimate commitment to him. I mean, there were no flaws or dents blemishing what we had and with the wedding soon behind us, the next step seemed pretty obvious.

But as Bonnie approached Damon and started to explain her gift, I held my breath and anxiously awaited his response. Her lips stopped moving and that was when the flicker of disappointment flashed across his face; too quick for her eyes to register, but not too quickly for mine. I felt my heart sink as he masked his true response with an appreciative fabricated one.

Everything seemed to spiral around me as my clench tightened on the fabric drapery of the window. I just didn't understand how after all of this time Damon still didn't have enough faith in my commitment to him. I'd done what I was supposed to. I'd been the supportive girlfriend and I'd proven I was in it for the long haul. What more did he possibly want from me?

As I watched Bonnie turn and head back to the house I felt myself slowly start to deflate. All of the excitement that had previously filled me was slowly seeping out when Damon's eyes latched onto mine. At the sight of me without a smile lighting my face, he shot me a quizzical look and I realized that I couldn't go through with this wedding without figuring out why he still had reservations.

I motioned my index finger towards him, back to myself, and then upwards towards my old bedroom. He looked down at his watch and tapped the thing twice, but I didn't care if I was supposed to be walking down the aisle in 10 minutes or not. This was more important and there was no way in hell I was saying 'I Do' unless it had an unspoken attachment of eternity.

So I mouthed the word 'Please' and turned around to head up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Caroline gasped as my foot landed on the first stair. "The ceremonies about to start."

"I need to do something first," I explained as I continued to ascend the staircase.

She called after me a second time, but I didn't stop to listen. Instead I continued all of the way to my room and swung the door open only to find Damon already inside.

"You know you're breaking cardinal rule one by letting me see you," he joked as his signature smirk slid across his lips. He then made his way to me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and placed a kiss on my cheek. "You look lovely by the way."

His motions were so fluid and his voice was so gentle that it was hard to believe any reluctance still rested within him. But there was and I needed to squash it because otherwise promising ourselves to each other seemed like a lie.

So I slid out of his hold, closed the door behind me, and swiped a page from Caroline circa 2010, aka before she'd become a vampire and reigned in control over her demanding and spastic emotions.

"Why are you marrying me, Damon?" I blatantly asked as I turned around to face him.

He narrowed his eyes at me and questioned, "Is that a trick question?"

I just stared back at him with a stern look on my face and made no attempt to play into his stupid humor.

At my stiffness, his features softened and he stepped towards me. He let out a sigh and lifted his hand to run the pad of his thumb along my cheekbone and answered, "I thought it was a given, but I'm marrying you because I love you and want to spend the rest of my undead life with you."

The way he said it and the way his skin slipped feathery down the side of mine did nothing but emphasize how much he meant the statement, but as my eyes closed and I felt myself fall under the spellbinding power of his love, his disappointed expression from earlier reared its ugly head in my vision.

My eyes slammed open and I shook myself from my previous trance and asked almost desperately, "Do you?"

He shot me a disbelieving look and responded, "Of course I do. How could you possibly not know that by now?"

I creased the lines of my forehead as my eyes squinted and I fought to resist the tears threatening to overflow. "I saw the way you looked when Bonnie told you about my ring and there was nothing about that look that convinced me you're behind spending forever together. "

Damon let out a long breath of air and removed his hand from my jawline. He then took a step back towards my bed and ran his fingers through his hair. He paced for the longest time before he finally turned around and questioned, "You saw that?"

I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "It was quick and I may not be a vampire yet, but I don't miss much when it comes to you."

"I'm impressed," he said with a cocky expression on his face that didn't reflect the current atmosphere of the room.

"And I'm confused," I exclaimed as I shook my head from side to side. I then walked over to him because although I was frustrated that he wasn't taking the bait and supplying me with an answer to my question, I wasn't angry with him.

This time, my hand was the one to reach out and make contact. It latched onto the back of his head so that I could pull him down to my level and closer towards me as I reasoned, "I love you and I'm ready to take that next step with you, but I need you to be with me when I do. I get that you're nervous that I might wake up one day and suddenly change my mind, but I promise, Damon; that's never going to happen."

His hands reached out to grab the sides of my hips and he inched his face forward a few centimeters so that his forehead rested against mine. There was a hint of a smile curling the right side of his lips upwards as he countered, "I'm not worried about you changing your mind. You're easier to read than a Dr. Seuss book and I can see that it's different for you this time around."

I should have been relieved that this wasn't about his trust in me, but instead it only made me more confused. "Is it the humanity thing then? Do you prefer me all warm blooded and heart pattering or something? Or is it about you? Do you want me to remain a human so that we can live out the moments that were taken from you?"

That question had struck a nerve because his hands left me and he placed space between our bodies as he muttered sarcastically, "Yeah, because adopting a puppy or one of those mutants you call a _child_ is really on the top of my to-do list."

His tone clearly suggested these weren't things that he wanted and if I was being honest, I couldn't envision Damon taking on the role of being a father. But I couldn't deny that maybe the sarcastic wall had been set in place because these were things he really _did _want in his future. So I stressed, "Well, are they?"

He rolled his eyes at me and scoffed, "No, Elena, they're not."

"Then what's going on?" I asked desperately as my hands flew through the air. "There's obviously a reason you don't want me to turn and I can't help you through it if you're not honest with me." Because it was true and honesty had always worked in the past. No matter how brutal our honesty was, the end result was always better than the place we'd been initially. And also because I couldn't stand this feeling of uncertainty lingering in the air between us.

But his honesty never came and instead he threw his hands out in irritation. "Can't we just leave it at the fact that I don't want you to turn?"

"That answers not fair and you know it. So, no, we can't just leave it at that," I shouted because I wanted to be ruthless and I wanted to stand strong against him, but the weight of his words was too heavy for me to keep up the front. He didn't want me to turn and the idea crashed through me and made its way through my sockets as the tears started to fall.

I knew I was being ridiculous, because I had assured Damon that this time would be about him and whichever decisions he chose to make concerning how I spent my future. But that was because I always assumed he'd want me in the rest of his.

The tears were streaming in full force down my cheeks and my hands were trembling at my sides. Anger and disappoint meshed together and I couldn't believe how much of a 180 this day had taken. What had started as one of the happiest moments of my life had become another one of our stupid fights and now I was here bawling my eyes out, probably destroying the hours of handiwork Caroline had applied to my face, and feeling like a rejected idiot.

But then Damon's arms were around me in that comforting way he'd mastered over the years. I fell into them as he pulled me tighter against his body and he explained softly, "Elena, you have to understand. If it was still an option, I'd want nothing more than to spend forever with you."

He then used one hand to lift the base of my chin upwards so I had to look directly into those blue eyes of his. There was compassion and a twinge of sadness as he declared, "But we don't have that option anymore."

"Why not?" I asked because the way he was holding me only demonstrated how much of a possibility eternity was.

But he surprised me when he frowned and answered, "Because I'm not going to live forever."

The waterworks instantly stopped and my eyes snapped wide open as I removed myself from his hold.

"What?" I asked because I had to of heard him incorrectly. Damon was invincible and he appeared perfectly healthy in front of me. He was the strongest person I knew and there were no signs of weakness tarnishing that image of him that I'd forever held on to. He was invincible, always would be.

But he shrugged with a nonchalance that was the furthest from appropriate during a situation like this and weakly joked. "Yeah, turns out I have an expiration date."

I was stuck frozen with my eyes narrowed as I watched for any signs that he was kidding around and retorted, "This isn't a funny joke."

"I'd like to think I have a better sense of humor than that," he muttered and made his way to sit on my bed. He fussed his hand through his disheveled hair, which had the impossible effect of looking pristine immediately afterwards, before he lowered it down into his lap.

Remorse side blasted me as he stared despondently down at his folded hands because I'd been shallow and callous just moments before while he'd secretly been dealing with the fact that he was no longer immortal.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but I was incapable of forming words because what Damon confessed suddenly sank in and I was having a difficult time wrapping my head around the notion that my beloved vampire wouldn't always be around.

We stayed like that in silence for a few seconds before his eyes finally lifted up to look at me and he admitted, "I didn't want you to have to know, but apparently the connection I share with Klaus does more than keep him from killing me. It also binds us so that when he dies, so does yours truly."

"But Klaus is indestructible," I stated. "So, you have nothing to worry about." Although I'd spoken the words with certainty, somehow deep within I knew they weren't true, because otherwise we wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place.

"Not exactly," he remarked, confirming what I already knew but didn't want to accept.

The walls had stated to close in around me as I hesitantly made my way beside him and sank down onto the bed. They were sliding in slowly and I swallowed down the developing lump in my throat as he explained, "It's un-natural for someone to exist with both species' genes intact, hence the reason Klaus had to go to such lengths in order to activate the wolf gene he possessed. Fortunately, or unfortunately I guess if you're me, the different genes are as incompatible as the species themselves because unless Klaus finds the cure that allows them to coexist inside of him, he has an expiration date. Therefore _I_ have an expiration date."

Which meant _we_ had an expiration date. We sat silently and that thought sloshed uncomfortably against the lining of my stomach. As I felt my anxiety continue to build and myself edge further towards the edge of my hysterical cliff, I pushed it back down and refused to accept anything before I knew all of the information. So I asked, "How did you even find out about this and how can you be sure it's true?"

His eyes drifted upwards to stare at nothing in particular as he answered, "I found out because our secret society of vampires gossips more than those bitches on Wisteria Lane and I can't be certain for sure, but I can assure you that it certainly feels like the truth."

"What do you mean it feels like the truth?" I asked hesitantly. I then reached out and rubbed my hand along the fabric of his tux covering his arm in hopes that the contact would pull his eyes from whatever they were focusing on over to meet the chocolate brown of mine.

The contact had the desired effect I'd been aiming for because those topaz gems of his drifted over and latched on. "I feel _him_ sometimes, not all of the time, but occasionally. It's one of the reasons I believed the stories about Klaus' blood and the power it held over those who ingested it in the first place. And lately the experiences haven't been good. He's not exactly weak, but there's something off-balance about the feelings," he explained.

I nodded my head as I absorbed the information he was supplying and asked, "How long have you been able to feel him?"

"It started a few weeks after I left," he admitted before he rolled his eyes and raised his brows up towards his hairline. "But the delightful episodes are getting more frequent."

My pulse suddenly accelerated at his latest confession and I felt like the wind had been sucker-punched from my lungs. I removed my hand from his shoulder and wrapped it around my waist because I was doing so well at keeping myself from edging over that cliff, but I was finding it more difficult by the second as I weakly questioned, "So does that mean your time is running out?"

But he heard my racing heart of course and laced his arm around my back, pulling me into the side of him, and assured, "I don't think so because word on the street is that Klaus can survive for a century without the cure."

So he got the lifespan of a human and I couldn't see past the irony of it all. I should have been relieved that we still had so much time ahead of us, but it felt like the universe had smacked me across the face. Because this is what I'd wanted in the beginning, the chance to live a normal life, and I'd been granted the opportunity to do so. But the problem was that it no longer seemed like enough.

My heart felt like it was caving it on itself and I knew I had to keep the conversation moving or else the tears would reappear. So, I asked the only question I could think of on the spot. "When did you find out about all of this?"

"About a week before I came back," he answered.

"So you came back because you knew you were going to die," I said because all my mind was capable of doing at the moment was recapping what my dying vampire had already stated.

He rubbed his hand against the side of my arm and used his other to turn my face towards him and confessed, "Finding out I was eventually going to die put a few things in perspective, you being one of them. I realized that if I only had another century to live that I wanted to live it with you."

"Then why did you fight with me in the kitchen if you already knew you were going to take me back?" I asked softly. I wasn't angry with him because that fight had been necessary and it had brought a lot of issues to the surface that had previously been unspoken, but I still wanted to know; even if it wasn't the most important issue at hand.

His eyes ignited with a territorial blaze as he answered, "Because I'd seen you with that guy and my temper got the best of me." But then the blaze extinguished as his signature smirk slid into place and he teased, "Plus, having the roles reversed and you being the one apologizing was a nice change."

Seeing that smirk that I love so much on his face, even during a conversation like this, was enough to push me over the cliff's edge because it was a blatant reminder that I wouldn't get to see it forever. _He_ wouldn't be here forever. And although we, supposedly, had plenty of time it wasn't nearly enough after considering and finally accepting the option of eternity.

My mind raced through all of those times in the beginning I'd pushed him away because he'd pissed me off or done something impulsive that left me broken afterwards. It raced along the times I told him it would always be Stefan because I couldn't accept the fact that I could possibly fall in love with the darker, dangerous brother. And finally it charged through those four years we'd spent apart while I embraced the fact that this _eternity with him_ was what I wanted, only to have it thrown back into my face.

I'd wasted so much time over the years because of trivial actions that seemed so significant at the time and I was pissed at myself, but mostly I was pissed at the universe for doing to this to us; to him.

"I just can't believe this is happening, Damon. We we're supposed to work through all of our issues and then get the happy ending," I exclaimed. Because was that really so much to fucking ask for after everything we'd already been through? Didn't couples get those anymore?

But although I was panicking, he appeared cool as a cucumber. I guess my response had come as no surprise to him because an amused smile graced his lips over my outburst. Maybe it was because he'd already had the time to deal with these issues.

His hand reached up to sweep a spare strand of my hair that had managed to fall from one of the million bobby pins holding my up-do in place as he replied, "We still are."

He seemed so accepting of the new timeline we'd been given and he was looking at me with such affection in his eyes that it was difficult to feel angry at anything anymore. Instead the anger was replaced by a heavy state of melancholy as I weakly declared, "Not the way we were supposed to."

Damon smiled weakly and teased, "I know it's not what you were expecting, but I'm sure you would have gotten tired of my asinine ways eventually anyway."

I was about to refute that there was no possible way I would ever get tired of having him around when I remembered a certain comment he'd made earlier that I'd been too preoccupied to notice.

I abruptly stood up and lifted my hand into the air. "You said there was a cure," I said with a sudden sense of optimism.

He rolled his eyes and muttered, "You were always too observant for your own good."

I smiled at his comment; yes I actually smiled because there was still hope. I started pacing around the room and I'd imagine cranks were turning inside of my head when I proclaimed, "Then we can figure out what it is. Klaus has to know. We'll find him."

"Because that's always been so easy in the past," Damon remarked sarcastically.

He then lifted himself from the bed and made his way to place his hands on my shoulders to stop me dead in my tracks. "And besides, I already know what the cure is."

I looked up at him with eyes that surprisingly hadn't bugged completely out of their sockets and asked, "Then why aren't we out searching for it?"

His hand left my shoulders and his index finger shot into the air. "One: Klaus doesn't deserve to live forever and I don't mind going down if it means that bastard goes down with me." His middle finger shot into the air as his head cocked to the side and added, "And two: it's unattainable."

"Nothing's unattainable," I argued.

There was a brief moment of hesitation where his expression spoke more than I could tell he was going to on the issue, before he composed himself and declared, "Trust me. It is."

In that brief revealing moment his eyes had flared with a possessive flash and I knew he was lying to me. I didn't understand why he was, but I knew the only reasons he ever lied to me were when…

"How am I involved?" I asked accusingly.

But if he was lying this time, he did a much better job of concealing it. There was no moment of hesitation that gave him away when he replied, "For once you're not involved."

I couldn't accept his answer that easily and I _had_ to make sure I'd misread his previous flare up. So I reached my hand to grip onto his shoulder and questioned softly, "If there was a way that I could save you, you'd let me wouldn't you?"

He chuckled at my question, but I already knew he would. This problem of wanting to save the other and never wanting to actually be save had originated by Klaus and it only seemed appropriate that it would reappear again when he was concerned.

So Damon's deflecting response came as no surprise as he verbalized what I already knew. "Always have to be everyone's savior during times like these. You have a martyr complex even more superior than my brother's."

But I held my ground and didn't sway from the topic at hand. My eyes narrowed accusingly as I countered, "It's only matched by yours when it concerns me. So, answer the question."

He sighed and rolled his eyes at me. "Yes. I'd let you save me," he grunted. He then shot me a faux disdainful look and asked, "Feel better?"

No, I didn't feel better. My heart sagged at his answer, but only because it really proved there was nothing that I could do to help him out of the situation we'd found ourselves in. I shook my head because accepting defeat was even more difficult after that brief sense of hope and said, "There has to be something we can do."

Then his arms gripped onto the divots above my hips and he had a hopeful luster illuminating his features as he ordered, "The only thing I want you to do is forget about all of this nonsense and marry me, just like you came here to do. And I want that giddy expression of yours lighting up your face because you, Elena Gilbert, are marrying one hell of a catch."

And suddenly there it was, the distant memory of why we were actually here, back front and center. With everything that we'd just discussed I couldn't believe he still had the capability of moving on and switching into his charming self. And I couldn't believe he expected me to move past it so quickly with him.

"You just told me that you were inevitably going to die, how am I supposed to move on and be giddy after that?" I questioned sadly.

But he ignored my solemn expression and countered it with a quick kiss as he smiled at me and answered, "Because we all have to die at some point." He then lowered his face to place kisses along my neck and whispered against my skin, "_And_ because you're marrying someone who loves you more than anyone has ever possibly loved anyone else."

I sighed because once again all I could think about was the feel of his lips against my skin and the fact that these moments were now limited between us. At my action, Damon's icy lips left my skin and he pulled back. I was still sporting my frown because I was incapable of curling it up into even a straight line across my face.

He leaned his forehead to rest against mine and closed his eyes as he offered, "You know I can still turn you if that's what you want."

But I shook my head against his and waited for his eyes to open and look directly into mine. When they did, I placed a hand onto each of his cheeks and declined, "You know I don't want it without you." I then took a heavy breath and tried to calm my frantic heart as I admitted slowly, "It's just… the time."

"I know," he agreed before he pulled back. All I could see was the warmth in his eyes as he declared, "Well, maybe forever isn't in the deal, but we have today…" He leaned in to place a kiss on the left side of my cheek. "We have tomorrow," he added as he kissed the right side of my cheek. 'And we have a long lifetime ahead of us to make it count," he finally concluded as his lips made contact with my forehead.

He then cocked his head to the side in that all-familiar way of his and teased, "Plus, I don't think our guests are going to be too thrilled if we call this thing off."

My thumbs rubbed together uncomfortably because I suddenly felt unappreciative. I had this gorgeous vampire in front of me declaring his love for me in a way that would typically have my heart melting and dripping down the inside of my chest, and all I could think about was the fact that this wedding didn't stand for all of the promises it originally had.

As my eyes ran their way over those chiseled features and his soft pink lips lifted into an adoring smile, I realized that maybe we were still getting our happy ending. It might not be as long as I had hoped for and maybe my painful life lesson had been for nothing, but I still got Damon. And in the end that was all that really mattered right? _Right?_

So I gave in and let the same adoring smile lift my lips upward. I then slid my arms around his neck and playfully asked, "You're sure you really want to marry me after that psychotic emotional display I just gave you?"

He shrugged his shoulders and quipped, "Your psychotic emotional breakdowns are just one of your many endearing charms."

Damon then leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. I was amazed that after the realization he'd thrown my way, that the butterfly wings still flapped against the inside of my stomach. And as his lips molded and shifted around mine, I forced myself to think about the many opportunities we still had left to feel this moment again.

And when our lips finally parted, his eyes were gleaming in that way that only I had the capability of producing and I declared, "You're wrong, you know?"

He narrowed his eyes and gave me a quizzical look as I clarified with immense pride, "I love you just as much as you love me."

The gleam sparked brighter and with a flick of his brows, he challenged, "Are you ready to prove it?"

I nodded my head and retorted, "I'm ready to get my ass kicked by Caroline for delaying her perfect wedding."

He released an amused chuckle and made his way to the door. Before he opened it, he joked, "Good luck with that one, but whenever she's done manhandling you, I'll be waiting at the altar."

"I'll meet you there in a few," I replied with my giddy grin in-tact because I knew it was what he wanted to see and at the moment it's what we both needed. He then flashed to me, leaned in and left me with one last lingering kiss before he exited my bedroom and shut the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, I inhaled a few deep breaths and took a paced hesitantly around my old room. It didn't happen all at once, but the acceptance and strength he was projecting seemed to slowly be disappearing with him. The walls of my bedroom once again started to close in around me and my throat became tight and dry as I struggled for suitable breaths of air to fill my lungs.

I tried to hold off my panic attack for as long as I could, but as my eyes flew down to the ring on my finger and it's now pointless charm, I gave up my efforts and fell apart. All of my pieces scattered and bounced off of the walls that were getting just a bit too close and I sank to the ground.

I didn't cry again like I had expected to, but instead I balled my hands into fists and shook them against my side. I wanted nothing more than to let out a piercing scream or break something in this redesigned room and just release my pent up emotions, but there were two vampires within hearing range and I couldn't stand the thought of the most important one seeing or hearing me like this on our special day.

Because I felt awful that I was reacting this way, especially after he had spent so much effort lifting my spirits just moments before. But as I forced the air in and out of my lungs I accepted that I was allowed this moment and part of me wondered if Damon secretly knew that I needed it as well and that was why he'd left so swiftly.

I tightened my fists even more and released some of the tension from my muscles. I wasn't sure whether anger, heartbreak, or fear was the most prominent emotion shuddering through my body because they were all very much prominent at the moment.

I was angry that after so many years of walking this earth and after all of the positive changes Damon had gone through that fate had decided to link him with a ruthless piece of shit that didn't deserve one day of life. I was angry because fate had also brought me towards loving this vampire in the most powerful way only to prove that no matter what we decided or how strongly we felt about each other, it didn't matter because we were never going to be rewarded the eternity that _we_ deserved. But mostly I was angry that there was apparently absolutely nothing I could do to save the person that had saved me a trillion times in the past.

I was heartbroken because the thought that there would once be a day when Damon wouldn't walk this earth was heartbreaking on its own. I received a brief sense of relief in knowing that day would happen after I'd passed away, but then I felt heartbroken for thinking it and leaving Damon on his own. But mostly I was heartbroken because I'd expected so much more _time_.

And it was the lack of time that left me feeling terrified. Because I couldn't possibly understand how the remaining portion of a century was enough to make everything we'd put each other through count.

The expected tears slowly started to fall as my mind ran through these thoughts and I realized it was because I was just so _exhausted_.

This love between Damon and I was significant in the largest sense and it meant that our highest highs were far beyond the reach of anyone else, but it also meant that our lowest lows were bottomless. And constantly being pushed and pulled in both directions had taken more effort than I could have ever imagined. I didn't understand why we weren't allowed to experience the constant effortless highs without the plunging strenuous lows.

But when I took a deep breath and allowed myself another look at my engagement right, I felt everything start to shift. My tears slowly stopped leaking down my cheeks, my hands steadied against my side and then finally relaxed as my fists became unclenched. I took another deep breath and felt my racing heart steady to a stable rate as I realized that these lows that had seemed so exhausting were what had shaped us into what we were.

The lows themselves and the way we'd handled them had marked our true defining moments and maybe it hadn't always been easy and maybe effortless was never going to be a constant for our future, but I'd gladly endure those exhausting lows to experience the effortless highs that came in between. They were the moments that made all of this worth it and maybe those moments weren't going to be infinite, but I wasn't going to limit them further by burying myself deeper into this low.

Because Damon had made it clear that I couldn't change anything about his fate. I didn't necessarily have to agree with it or like what it meant for our future, but I could handle it correctly. And I could use it as a reminder to always make it count. And I could especially use it to help me accept that this day, despite the past few minutes, was supposed to and _will_ be an effortlessly high moment followed by many others. I just had to give it the opportunity to be.

So, with all of my pent-up emotions released, I shook the residue of my breakdown from my fingers and lifted myself from the floor. I walked over to the mirror and was amazed to see the state of my face was only slightly moderated from the pristine effect of Caroline's work earlier. I said a quick thank you to my non-present friend for using waterproof mascara and wiped away the few portions of eye shadow and liner that had streaked down my face.

I had just finished readjusting a few bobby pins when Caroline started frantically banging on the door and shouted, "Elena, are you alright in there? We need to get this thing started."

I called back, "Just a second," and allowed myself another glance at my ring. I realized that maybe the spell Bonnie had cast was pointless, but it did nothing but add to its meaning. It was a promise of my love that would never be tested, but it could never be removed and Damon and I would always know it was there.

Then I took one last look at my reflection in the mirror and smiled because, despite everything, I _was_ alright. I was marrying Damon and maybe we didn't get forever and I'm sure the better part of a century wasn't going to suffice. But like he said, we still had time and I was damned if we weren't going to make it count.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review! :)<strong>_


	12. Chapter 12

**I've decided that since this story has prominently been about the future, that an epilogue is definitely necessary after the last chapter. So following this one, there will be the final chapter when Elena returns to the present and deals with what she's learned through this whole process. And then the epilogue, set some distance into the future, which will show the differences between this future and the one she chooses to live.**

**Alright, not much to say about this chapter other than it's the last future moment. Hopefully it's not too confusing and feel free to ask any questions if you have them. **

_**I hope you like it!**_

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><p><strong>- May 2021 -<strong>

I ran my hands through my sleek waterfall of cascading hair and steady stream of hot water. When I opened my eyes, the image of Damon's room at the Salvatore boarding house filled my sight through the steamed up glass of his shower.

Coming back had been Damon's decision and I knew it was going to be rough, but understood that it was the best location for what was in store. The moment I stepped foot through the big wooden door of this mansion two days ago, I'd been pummeled with a painful nostalgia riddled with memories of events that had happened here. I hadn't stepped foot in Stefan's room since our return and I was fairly certain Damon had locked the bolt and sealed it up anyway.

But after tip toeing around for two days, the vast house was starting to feel like home again. And despite the familiarity of every other room but his, Damon's felt the most natural for me to exist in. As I looked around at the bare modern design now, I realized that it was because this room was Damon materialized. And if I'd learned anything from our crazy, demanding life it was that I wanted nothing but him as well.

This fact was only solidified further as I saw the blurred edges of his silhouette enter the room and my heart started pulsating frantically within my chest. I'd long since acknowledged that this reaction to his presence was never going to go away, but my pulse rate only seemed to accelerate further when I considered that today would be the last day this reflex would occur.

My mind had just started to drift to my decision and the sad irony of it happening on the 10th anniversary of Jenna's death, when the glass door swung open and Damon's half smirking face appeared in its place. My thoughts faded away as I smiled back at him and my eyes ran their way down his figure. He had already stripped down to nothing but his boxer briefs and the ripples of his abs and those delicious Jesus knots of his had me suddenly feeling more wet than I'd already been. I knew he could smell my arousal and the way his eyes narrowed seductively only indicated he was right there with me, but instead of acting out his desires, he teased, "Only you, Mrs. Salvatore, would feel the need to freshen up before…"

But I cut him off as my hand shot out and latched onto his forearm, pulling him into the shower with me. For once, I didn't want to talk. I only wanted to feel this moment and feel him with me before everything changed. And yeah, maybe my directness had something to do with the pleasing way my new last name sounded as it seemed to roll off of his tongue.

That same tongue found its way to mine instantly as they glided together in perfect harmonious strokes. The shower door was pulled shut and his boxer briefs were off without Damon missing a beat. Then his hands found their way to that perfect spot where my neck meets my jawline and he pulled me further into him. Our motions became rougher and my breathing intensified as I fought to inhale the scent of him deeper down into my lungs while the torrent of steaming liquid blasted us from above.

The difficulty of obtaining suitable breaths under the flow of water had no effect on me because I'd endure anything to feel his lips on mine like this. I could spend days here with our lips molding seamlessly together because there was nothing that made me feel more completely intact than being melded to him and having all of the pieces that he'd taken from me throughout the years back against my own skin.

But then one of his hands slid its way down the wet curvature of my side and he reminded me that there was something even better than feeling intact. He slid a finger into me and I was flipped inside out as he began moving it up and down. As his thumb began grazing masterfully over my clit, I let my head fall back and my eyes shut as a pleasurable moan escaped from my lips.

Then I was pushed backwards and my bare back landed on the cold of the damp glass. I opened my eyes only to see the glimmer of his brightening at the image of me in pleasure and he said in awe, "God, you're beautiful like this."

I bit my lower lip because I feared that if I opened my mouth to respond, my heart was going to come tumbling out instead. Hearing those words and feeling him inside of me sent a blast of overwhelming satisfaction filling my body and I knew that any minute I would surely burst from the expanding bliss of it all. But I was ready for that blast, so instead of speaking words, I forced his lips crashing back against mine and inhaled again.

His finger slid out and was immediately replaced by the length of his shaft. I gasped in gratifying relief as one arm laced around my back and over my shoulder to keep me from flying too high while the other positioned itself under the cheek of my butt to keep me from crashing too low. I then wrapped one leg around his back and with the water only aiding my personal lubricant; he started thrusting in and out.

My moans were subtle at first, but then I arched my body and with each motion he stroked that perfect spot. I began repeating his name in ecstasy and at the sound of it, Damon licked his lips. Then those black veins of his streaked from the edges of his eyes and the points of his fangs slid past his upper lip.

I only had a second to marvel this version of my beloved vampire before Damon swooped down to my neck and between wet kisses I felt the tips of those very fangs trace the sensitive skin that was begging to be pierced. He slid along my inner walls again and my extremities began to tremble as I felt myself edging closer to that ultimate high. I grabbed onto the back of his head and buried my hand in the locks that covered it, forcing him further towards my awaiting vein.

He read my invitation and his mouth closed around my throat. I felt a warm rush spread across the area amidst the chilling tingles his icy breath was producing. Then the edges of his fangs protruded into me and the tiny burst of pain shot my pleasure through the roof. I felt him pull the liquid from my bloodstream and the combination of Damon's guttural growl, after he swallowed, with another stroke inside of me pushed me right over the edge.

The blast was mind-numbing as I came undone and shuddered violently against him. My inner walls tightened along with my grips on his shoulder and head as I rode the pleasure-filled waves Damon was supplying. Then he dislodged his fangs from my neck and his head fell backwards as his eyes closed and he reached his own euphoric climax.

The moment was absolute perfection.

But then the universe decided it was time for another reminder that these effortlessly perfect moments weren't constant and only allowed in between the reality that was our lives. His legs began to tremble and I started shaking in his hold. And as Damon's knees buckled and we fell to the wet tiles below, the impact of the hard ceramic was the most effective smack of reality the universe could have thrown our way.

Neither one of us was surprised by the sudden change in Damon's strength because these falls had started months ago, but every time I always seemed to fall with him, whether it be physically or emotionally. This time it was both as my hands frantically cupped onto his cheeks and I asked through a panicked gasp, "Are you okay?"

Damon winced as I asked the question and it was crystal to see he was the furthest from okay. His hands were shaking against my bare skin as he clung to me for dear life. I was terrified, the same way I always was when this happened because it was possible that at any second he could just fall into one of these episodes and be taken away for good.

But then, just as quickly as the moment appeared, it disappeared. His trembling stopped and his expression relaxed as he took a deep breath. I took one in unison as relief swept its way through me because he'd survived another one.

"I'm fine," he finally answered lifting my spirits while I helped lift him from the ground.

He turned around to turn the jet of the shower off and grabbed two towels for us to dry off. As he handed me mine, I couldn't help but point out uneasily, "These episodes are becoming more frequent. That's the fourth time today."

Damon ran the towel over his locks before wrapping it around his waist. He then made his way to me and took my face in the palm of his hands. "You don't need to worry, I'm not going anywhere," he assured as he placed a kiss against my forehead. When he pulled back he cocked his head to the side and added lightly, "Besides, we still have the better part of a century remember?"

He'd successfully settled my nerves and he appeared perfectly fine in front of me now, so I smiled and replied, "Definitely the better part." I then leaned in to press my lips quickly against his before we both made our way to the dresser and started slipping into our clothes.

I'd just pulled my most comfortable navy blue t-shirt over my head, when Damon said, "I picked up your book while I was out today and laid it on the bed."

I glanced over and saw the freshly bound and printed hardcover resting in the middle of Damon's comforter when he added, "I'd thought you'd like to see your last piece of published fiction before you give it all up to spend more time with your muse."

I walked over and picked the thing up from the bed. It smelled fresh and as I ran my thumb down its sharp edges and crisp cover, a smile lifted the edges of my lips upward.

I'd given the characters the rightful ending they deserved after everything I'd put them through in the series; an eternity together of happiness. It had been the obvious happily ever after, but I knew there were more options when this phrase was taken into account. Because Damon and I weren't getting our eternal life together, but we were getting the next best thing and despite the overall belief that death was tragic, I knew that 'beautifully' could also be tacked on before the word.

Because what was more beautifully and romantically tragic than dying alongside your essential purpose of existence?

While the thought of Damon dying still sent a certain form of remorse sweeping through my veins, I'd accepted this circumstance. And I'd realized that I wanted to be there when it happened. Not just because the concept of dying together rather than at separate times seemed a much more suitable ending to _our_ story, but also because it allowed us just a little more time.

That sense of time had taken on such a powerful meaning since our wedding day, so when I'd brought up the suggestion of turning to gain more of it together, Damon had conceded. Not at first, but after a bit of discussion and even more witty banter about our intimate life when my age started to reflect physically, he'd agreed.

And that was why we'd come back to this town. It seemed like a much more appropriate place for the change to happen, instead of a busy city over-sized with temptation that held the possibility of filling me with guilt afterwards. Of course, our apartment still waited for us back in the big apple whenever I felt ready to return, but for the time being, Mystic Falls would act as our home.

Damon walked over and took a seat on the bed, pulling me from my thoughts, and declared, "You know you didn't have to end that part of you."

"I know, but I've never really been a behind the scenes type of author," I replied as my eyes swept over the cover one last time. I then turned my face to look at him and added, "Besides, I was ready to start living in our world instead of theirs."

"Which is terribly inappropriate of you to say considering the fact that you're going to die today," he remarked as his hand swept out and he pulled me down into his lap. The book fell to the ground as he wrapped his arms around me and I leaned my head to rest on his shoulder.

I nuzzled my head against the nook in his neck that was designated specifically for me and countered playfully, "There's a huge asterisk next to that statement – then I'll come back to life."

We both laughed at my quoting of Damon's phrase he'd used so many years ago; neither one of us focusing on the reasoning behind its use originally and instead its new one. The moment felt natural and it spoke of nothing but our effortless connection. His thumb was circling the small of my back and mine was running down the stubble of his chin. I knew these were the moments that needed to be cherished because all too soon the universe would send us a reminder that this wasn't all we were.

But instead of the universe, Damon was the one to change the tone of the room as his face shifted into a serious expression and he asked, "You know you don't have to die when I do right?"

It was the first time he had brought the issue up, but it was obvious it had been playing in the back of his mind since the decision to turn me had been made. I knew he hated the idea of me dying just because he did, but I couldn't possibly see the point in existing once he no longer did. Once Damon died, so would I. End of story.

There was no way Damon was going to sway my decision on this, so I lifted my head and pulled away slightly so that I could see the cerulean blue of his eyes and stated, "You're full of a lot of you didn'ts and you don'ts today, but what you don't understand is that I wanted and want to."

He shook his head slowly from side to side and rolled his eyes at me, his satisfied grin revealing just how much the simple statement had meant to him, and observed, "You're remarkably relaxed for someone whose life is about to end."

He knew better than anyone else that my life was just about to begin. So much of our world had revolved around this decision and whether or not it would take place. Now that I'd finally made up my mind, I anxiously anticipated its arrival. I was excited, not at all nervous, because I knew Damon would be there to coax me through it and there was no one I'd rather invest my faith in then him.

It was that excitement that had my eyebrows whipping up playfully and me challenging, "And you're remarkably relaxed for someone who's about to end my life before the night's over."

Damon chuckled at my playful banter and opened his mouth to reply, when his expression suddenly changed from relaxed to rigid.

Within a flash we were both standing beside the bed with his body placed protectively in front of mine. I was utterly confused by the change of atmosphere, but my questions were answered as _his_ chilling velvety accented voice sounded through the air.

"By all means, if someone's going to be killing anyone this evening, please let it be me," Klaus declared as he stepped through the doorway of Damon's room and leaned his back against the wall. The action only emphasized the arrogant confidence that seemed to drip from this hybrid's demeanor. But then I noticed the shaky state of his legs and momentarily wondered if the action wasn't for effect, but a necessary means of support.

It was about this time that I revoked my earlier assumption; _this_ unexpected encounter was the most effective smack of reality the universe could have possibly thrown our way and, at the sight of him, my nerve endings lit up like the Las Vegas strip.

I was terrified of this monster, the same way I figured I'd always be, but my terror was equally matched by the fury I felt towards him as well. I wanted nothing more than to charge across the room and drive a stake through his non-existent heart, but I knew it wouldn't be effective and even if it was, Damon would tarnish in the process.

So I settled for an expression that scorched my features with as much heat as I felt on the inside and asked, "What are you…"

But I stopped short when Klaus grunted and dropped to the ground. I halfway expected Damon to tumble down with the hybrid, and his moment of hesitation suggested he expected the same thing, but after he realized he was unaffected, Damon took advantage of the moment. He flashed to the closet and in the blink of an eye, he was over to Klaus' side.

I knew exactly what he'd grabbed. And as Damon's hand lowered towards Klaus' shoulder, clutching the syringe filled with a mixture of liquid vervain and wolfs bane in case an occurrence like this happened, I held up my arms and screamed, "Wait!"

Damon turned his face to look back at me. His mouth was hanging slightly open in disbelief and his eyes suggested nothing but agitated disappointment when I explained, "It might affect you too."

But he shrugged before he turned around and jabbed the needle into the top of Klaus' shoulder blade and inserted the liquid. Klaus writhed in pain against the wall and floor as Damon turned around and said, "He needed to be controlled and it was the only way we could do it. Besides, he just fell and I didn't; that has to mean something."

As Damon made his way to my side, Klaus' painful cries transitioned into sinister laughter. There was a brittle edge to it and his limbs were still completely immobile, but those signs of weakness did little to settle my over anxious nerves. I didn't understand how someone had the capability of being that evil as to laugh while they were in that much pain.

But Klaus couldn't resist smearing his insight in our faces and as a result I got my understanding. In between bursts of laughter, he managed to get out in a raspy voice, "It means there's a delay to this link of ours." The edges of his lips lifted slightly upward as he continued, "You're going to come crashing down in 3, 2, 1…"

And Damon fell, right on cue. I dropped to the floor and wrapped my arms around him as we both braced for the brunt of the agony from the mixture that was coming next. The scream of pain was deafening and echoed against the walls as I felt all of his muscles stiffen under mine. They shook violently and with each new cry of pain, another amused chuckle came from Klaus' direction.

I never thought it was possible to burn with this much hatred towards someone, but considering the amount of ache this goddamn hybrid had caused the Salvatore brothers, it was understandable how I could. So when Damon finally reigned in control over his vocal chords and the screaming ceased, I positioned him so that his back rested against the night stand and stomped my way over to Klaus.

All of my fears about confronting this demon had modified into strictly rage, and it was that rage that gave me the courage to position my face within inches of his and shout, "If there was a way that I could kill you without hurting him, it would already be done. You don't deserve to take another breath and your only saving grace is that you were linked to someone who does."

Klaus laughed again and it only managed to strike the match that ignited my fury to an exorbitant level. I resisted every muscle of my body inching my hand to reach out and slap the side of his amused face and instead screamed, "Why are you even here? Haven't you toyed with us enough already?"

The laughing stopped and Klaus' eyes narrowed seductively as he mused, "I always knew you had fire in you, but I can see why you captured the Salvatore men's hearts so ardently."

The reflex of a slap motioned its way through the muscles of my arm and this time I couldn't fight it off. My hand had just lifted to slice through the air when Damon weakly asked from behind me, "How did you find us?"

The midnight blue of Klaus' irises shifted over to look at Damon and he momentarily appeared perturbed before he masked it behind his cool exterior. "Your witch made my efforts a little more difficult than I had anticipated, but please thank you blonde friend for so conveniently placing herself in the public eye. Compelling her to spill your location and forget the incident afterwards was almost too easy."

My mind was racing a mile a minute. The witch Klaus was referring to was obviously Bonnie, but what had she done to prevent him from finding us? And why had she done it in the first place? To protect Damon?

I turned my head in Damon's direction with every intention of asking him any one of these questions, when it dawned on me that he hadn't been surprised by Klaus' sudden appearance. And as I studied him now, he looked the furthest from shocked. Honestly, his expression was rather indifferent and the tone of his voice emphasized the same thing as he noted, "I'm surprised you came alone."

My hair whipped around my face as I turned to look in Klaus' direction just in time for him to shrug his shoulders. "Desperate times call for…" He took a moment to roll his eyes and concluded, "Well you know the phrase."

"So desperate that you had to come without your circle of protectors?" Damon asked. Although my eyes were still fixated on Klaus, I could feel the accusatory heat searing my back from Damon's.

Another stiff shrug came from Klaus before he replied, "My timeline was running out, I couldn't exactly wait around." This point was emphasized by a painful wince across the features of his face and a hiss escaped through his lips.

I turned and made my way to Damon because I knew it was only a matter of seconds before _that_ pain struck through him and although there was nothing I could physically do to help my vampire; I still wanted to be there when it happened. And although I knew Damon would hate the way I was making him appear vulnerable in front of his enemy, I just didn't have it in me to remain separated from him.

I laced my arms supportively around his body and leaned the side of my head against his. I then looked at Klaus and asked, "What do you mean your timeline is running out?"

"Well, I thought it was obvious, but I'm going to die today unless I have my cure." He spoke the words so matter-of-factly that I almost wasn't sure I heard him correctly.

But I didn't have time to wrap my mind around the idea because I felt Damon's body go stiff in my hold and I tightened my arms around him. He took a couple of quick harsh breaths before he grunted, "What happened to a century?"

"I didn't want my true timeline revealed to everyone; that would have made me too vulnerable," Klaus scoffed as if this were something we should have already known. He then rolled his eyes in a way that was clearly meant to make us feel inferior for our ignorance and continued, "The supernatural are a survival species and they would have taken advantage if they knew I was only given a decade to survive without the cure. So, I fabricated the time."

I vaguely heard Damon spit out some form of an insult or threat and another fire back from Klaus, but everything seemed to become muffled as the reality of what Klaus had just admitted hit me. We'd run out of time and I'd lose Damon within a matter of hours. And that was only if he was lucky enough to survive that long.

My eyes had just started to sting with the threat of hysterical moisture when I finally took a moment to study just how deteriorated the features of his face had become. There was moisture resting across the top layer of Damon's skin and the blue irises that I'd become so fond of had dimmed to resemble the sky of a rain-soaked day. Tiny red veins streaked from the circumference of that grey, only to continue under his eyelids, and dark circles had etched their way right above his cheekbones making everything appear slightly sunken in. His skin was ghostly pale, even whiter than usual, and I could no longer ignore what I'd been so desperately trying to.

Damon was dying right before my very eyes, there was absolutely no denying that fact and at that second I felt my heart falter. When it resumed beating, the motions felt unnatural and the pain stinging from my chest only emphasized how difficult it would be to keep the thing functioning if Damon ceased to exist.

With the conversation between the two men still acting as my background music, the rest of my organs decided to protest alongside my heart. My throat sealed itself up tight and I struggled for proper amounts of breath to fill my lungs. Even my tear ducts failed to produce moisture.

My entire body was shutting down when Klaus' angered voice suddenly became magnified. "But enough of this stalling. Give me my cure and I won't rip your heart from your ribcage."

Damon moved his hand slightly to cover mine and I felt the pressure of his fingers tighten down protectively. It was the first sign of improvement I'd witnessed since Klaus' appearance and it was enough to jump-start my insides.

I took a deep breath of air, relishing the way my expanding lungs felt, when Damon remarked, "One: that's _my_ move. And two: I don't think you're in any position to be barking out threats."

With all of my organs working properly once again, I felt my anger towards Klaus return. He was the reason this death was looming over our heads in the first place. If he'd been honest then we would have known the real time Damon had left instead of wasting so much of it. And if we only had a little bit of time left, I sure as hell didn't want Klaus hanging around bantering with my husband.

All of these thoughts swirled through my head and I was trembling with rage when I re-entered myself back into the conversation. My voice was elevated as I screamed, "Why would you even think that we have it in the first place?"

This stopped them both dead in their tracks. Damon stared at me with an expression so effected by pain that it was hard to witness. He looked guilty and I half expected him to reply to my question instead of Klaus, but all too soon the hybrid's thick voice pulled my attention to his side of the room.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that she doesn't know?" he asked pointedly, staring directly at Damon. He then sighed and shook his head from side to side. "I learned to expect this obsession when handling Stefan, but I always figured you to be better." Then a sly grin lifted one side of his lips upwards as he added, "That obsession of his was actually the reason I never came for your life after you took his."

I saw that Klaus' verbal slash had struck Damon with full force, but in typical Damon fashion, he hid the emotional fatigue well and quipped back, "I always figured it was because you were off fetching little red riding hood."

But Klaus' ignored Damon's jab and continued rubbing salt in the older brother's bare wound. "He became a nuisance after our first month in Glenwood, Utah. I figured start him off in a tiny town and I'd mold him from there. But then he couldn't help himself whenever someone slightly resembling this doppelganger stepped into view. He became more of a problem than an asset, so I wanted to thank you for taking him off of my hands."

The last words of Klaus' speech had come out slowly for optimum effect and I couldn't continue to sit there and let this pathetic piece of shit drown my husband in his own self-guilt. And besides, I was tired of the guessing games and it was time I got the final piece of this whole puzzle.

So, before Damon had the chance to counter Klaus' verbal attack and continue this war any longer, I took a deep breath and blatantly asked, "What's the cure?"

Klaus didn't hesitate before he smiled appreciatively and answered, "You, of course."

I gasped, but in all honesty I'm not sure why I did. As soon as the words left those thinly stretched lips of his I realized that I should have known all along that I'd be the cure. My blood was the element that had allowed the two species to coexist within Klaus' in the first place. So it only seemed appropriate that my blood would allow them to continue coexisting.

Plus, I knew that I hadn't misread Damon's reaction when I first asked him about obtaining the cure. I'd seen a possessive flash, but I'd gotten so good at reading him throughout the years that when he'd lied to me afterwards with such earnesty, I couldn't _not_ believe him.

I felt his hand tighten around mine once again as the truth spilled from Klaus' mouth and I knew that he was just trying to save me all along. I wasn't angry with him because if the roles were reversed, I would have done the very same thing. The only thing that made me angry was the fact that in order to save the person I loved most on this planet, I had to save the one that I hated the most.

It was a catch 22, one that others might have possibly spent wasted hours contemplating, but I needed no time. I would save anyone, including the person whom I considered number one of my hit list, if it meant that I also got to save _him_.

So, I peeled myself out of Damon's hold, which was terrifyingly easy considering how weak he was, and headed over to Klaus. I'd taken only three steps when Damon nervously shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

I turned around and for the first time I was thankful that he was defenseless because it meant that I could go through with this. But at the same time, I hated seeing him that way, especially because despite everything, I still considered him invincible. Perhaps it had been my minds way of coping with his ultimate timeline since I couldn't imagine living in a world without him.

It was that thought of never living in a world without him that powered me to declare, "I'm saving you."

"No you're not," he argued without a missing a beat. "He needs to drain you dry for enough of your blood to make the combination work."

"I figured," I replied softly as my head nodded up and down, because I'd already assumed this was part of the deal. This wasn't just about choosing whether to kill Klaus or save Damon, but also a matter of choosing to save myself or save Damon.

It had played an initial part in my decision and had little effect in making it any more difficult. Because my body had already declared how uncommitted it was to surviving without Damon and I honestly didn't have the desire to do so.

The way he was looking at me now, concern shadowing every fleck of his beauty, was torturous. I wanted to run to Damon, wrap my arms around him, and tell him how much I loved him, but I knew that if I did I'd never leave his side. Feeling him that close would crumble any strength I had of sacrificing myself for him.

So, instead of giving in, I smiled weakly and refuted, "And yes, I am. Because you need me to." I then turned and headed over to Klaus, whose eyes had illuminated with the prospect of survival. For the first time this repulsive creature remained silent and for that I was thankful.

As Damon's protests pounded against my back, I swiped the pocket knife that had fallen from Klaus' jean pocket onto the floor and flipped the blade out. I slid it along the delicate skin covering the veins that extended down into my hand and saw the first droplets of red liquid breach the surface. I then held it over Klaus' mouth, which was wide open and resembled a highway toll waiting for its proper coin payment to be dropped in. I did this because I couldn't bear the thought of Klaus's lips on my wrist. And at least this way, I'd lose enough blood to become unconscious before contact was actually made.

The stream of red liquid seeped its way around the side of my wrist when I finally focused my attention on Damon's voice. I couldn't handle looking at him because his struggle to move and the pain on his face would be too unbearable, but I wanted him to be the last thing I heard before I died.

"It's only going to work for another decade. Damnit, Elena, think about what you're doing!" Damon shouted desperately.

After hearing that, I pulled my wrist back against my body. One tiny drop of blood fell against Klaus' bottom lip and before I snapped my head in Damon's direction, I saw the hybrid's tongue snake out and swipe the droplet into his mouth.

"I thought it was a cure?" I asked.

"There's no cure, it'll only delay the inevitable," he quickly explained. Damon then sighed once my shoulders slumped and he'd realized that he'd delayed _my_ inevitable act.

The chiseled features of his face finally softened as he added, "And besides, how are you so narrow-minded as to believe that I'd want to live on without _you_?"

I stared back, saying absolutely nothing because what was I supposed to say to him_? I'm not strong enough to survive in a world without you in it, but you deserve the chance to do so?_ It didn't seem to express nearly enough.

Damon misread my internal struggle to find the right words, because he cocked his head to the side slightly and smirked at me. God, that image of him that I'd loathed so many years ago had my heart feeling like it was going to pound right out of my chest. He then reasoned, "If you're going to be stubborn enough to sacrifice yourself for me, at least let me give you my blood so that I know you'll come back afterwards."

The memory of Damon forcing his blood onto me the day of the first sacrifice played in my vision and I couldn't believe I hadn't remembered this before. His blood had been in my system _that_ time, so why couldn't it _this_ time?

I felt the smile slowly creep over my lips and I never imagined I could be this happy about receiving a decade with Damon when I'd been so distraught about only have a century. But I was. Tiny bubbles of exhilaration were exploding inside of me as I made my way to him. With my arms eager to wrap themselves around his frail, yet indestructible body, it felt like the room had expanded and become a mile wide.

I was only a few more steps away when his smirk disappeared and disbelief masked Damon's expression. His eyes were focused behind me as he whispered in awe, "All it took was a drop?" He was clearly stunned.

Then his expression transitioned yet again into one overcome by terror. Curiosity got the best of me, so I whirled around to glance back in Klaus' direction in time to hear him mutter, "I just need another taste," and for his head to swoop down to my neck. I screamed as his fangs pierced themselves viciously through my skin and latched onto my carotid artery. His pulls were deep and I could feel the liquid being sucked all of the way from my fingertips and toes.

I tried to push Klaus off of me, but I knew it was worthless. Still, I wouldn't go down without a fight. As I thrashed against the hybrid's chest, I heard Damon's pleading shouts echo throughout the room.

"All you needed was a drop!"

"Stop!"

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"You're going to kill her!"

"You're cured!"

"You'll need her in another ten years!"

He screamed them all as he tried to reason with Klaus, but the monster's fangs never dislodged themselves from my neck.

The hybrid then shifted slightly and Damon finally came into my line of vision. He was thrashing violently, well as violently as you can without the ability of using your extremities, as he tried to mobilize himself to my aid.

But the time delay between Klaus' body and his hadn't been reached and I prayed to whoever would listen that it would before it was too late.

Responsively the sound of a ticking time-bomb started in my head, only magnifying time's significance. And it was at that moment that I realized I hated time and the fact that we never seemed to have enough of it.

As I continued my internal begging and Damon continued his useless efforts, I noticed the ticks got closer and closer together the further I felt myself edging towards death. These ticks scared the hell out of me and I once again resumed my pathetic efforts of removing myself from Klaus' hold.

_Tick._

There Damon and I were, fighting uselessly against whatever evil was holding us in place and failing miserably. The notion was enough to make anyone give up, but neither of us did.

_Tick._

I jerked and flailed, each motion dragging Klaus' fangs around my skin and widening the puncture marks he'd made in my neck.

_Tick._

My entire body was screaming in pain and beginning to feel numb at the same time, but still I kept up my efforts. I wouldn't give up because there was nothing beautiful about this ending. It was pure tragedy and completely unnecessary.

_Tick._

My legs started to become limp and my arms felt like jello as I smashed them against the back of Klaus' head. Why the hell wouldn't he stop drinking? He was cured for god's sake!

When there was barely any separation between the ticks, Damon finally managed to heave himself from the floor. He'd just reached Klaus when my vision began to fade out. I felt one of his hands on my shoulder as he tried to pry Klaus' fangs from my skin. A tiny ray of hope shot through me and for a second I let myself believe that I would survive this.

But then I felt my limbs go slack and instead of allowing myself to feel the painful regret of not giving Damon a proper goodbye before I stubbornly and stupidly tried to save him, I thanked whoever I'd been praying to before that I'd at least got to feel him one last time before I died. And I figured that, at least, despite everything, I'd died so he could live. The optimist in me hoped he had it in him to do so.

That was the last thing I prayed for when the world faded to black and no other tick followed.

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><p><em><strong>Please read and review. :)<strong>_

**I've had a few people ask me what Bonnie saw in her future, so I'm going to include that in the next chapter when Elena gets back to real time.**

**Also, I've been traveling a lot for work lately, hence the delays between posts, and it's going to continue for at least another week. So it's probably going to take about the same time as it did for this chapter before my next post.**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I didn't have much time to respond to them since real life has been pretty much eating away all of my free time, but you at least deserve a general thank you. I love reading what you guys think and your support means so much to me. It really does…_**

**Alright, about this chapter. It ended up going on forever, and even after trimming it down numerous times, it was still over 10,000 words. And although I tend to write chapters on the longer side, I just couldn't have one that long. So, I split it up into two parts. The entire thing is already written, so I'll post the second half tomorrow. No reason to make you guys wait if you don't need to right?**

**Since my plan wasn't initially to split this chapter into two sections, not everything is explained completely in this first half. I really hope it's not confusing, but if it is, you have the second half to clear everything up tomorrow.**

**Other than that, I hope you guys like it!**

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><p><strong>- June 5, Present Day –<strong>

My eyes bolted open and I shot upright gasping for breaths. My entire body was shaking and I felt like I'd been asleep for at least a century. My limbs were unfamiliarly stiff and as I tried to regain my bearings, Bonnie shot up beside me.

I rubbed my eyes in slow circular motions, trying to ease the throbbing behind them caused by the snowballing of memories I had, well hadn't, lived, when she wrapped me up into a tight bear hug and exclaimed, "Thank God you're alright!"

Despite her firm grip, my breathing regulated as I steadily regained my bearings. I patted her back and embraced her hug as my eyes darted around her room. Noticing the change of scenery from the living room that I had originally passed out in, I croaked, "How long was I out?"

She pulled back but kept a hand on each of my shoulders as she answered, "Three days. I was so worried that I'd done something wrong and you weren't going to wake up." She then shook her head back and forth and took a relieving breath before she pulled me into another hug.

Bonnie squeezed tighter this time and I couldn't help but laugh at how relieved my best friend was over my awakening. It felt phenomenal being back after everything I'd seen and for a second I just wanted to relish in the simplicity of _this_ moment before I was forced to deal with my future.

After a few giggles the throbbing behind my eyes had started to subside and I managed to get out, "I take it three days is a long time?"

She pulled back and released her hold on me. She then crossed her legs to position herself indian style on the bed and justified, "Well considering I was only out for a couple of hours when I did the spell, I'd say yes."

"But in all fairness, you only saw one moment, I saw my entire life," I countered. I then took a deep breath and confessed, "Including my death, by the way."

"You saw your own death?" she gasped. I watched her cinnamon orbs waver back and forth as she mulled the idea around in her head and added, "I mean it makes sense since the spell was designed to show all of your important moments, but that had to be traumatizing."

My mind momentarily drifted back to the feeling of Klaus' fangs dragging around the skin of my neck and shuddered at the thought. "Yeah, it's wasn't exactly one of my favorite moments."

Bonnie eagerly inched herself forward and asked, "Well how many did you see? What happened?"

"So many," I answered. I then took a deep breath as the moments, once again, started flashing before me in rapid speed. But I pushed them away, unsure if I was ready to face them all just yet, and continued, "But you already know a part of it since I was in your future glimpse."

She shot me a dubious look and argued, "Yeah, but I just saw mine and Jeremy's wedding and it wasn't that far into the future."

She waited for me with eager eyes that appeared so enthusiastic to hear about the following stages of my life, but honestly there wasn't much else to tell. I wanted to lie to her instead of giving her the honest truth about how pathetically short my life had been, but I couldn't.

"Well I didn't last long afterwards," I admitted because I needed to confide in someone, especially considering everything that had happened and everything that needed to be sorted out or fixed.

That response seemed to have deflated her enthusiasm because she just stared at me hopelessly. There was a heavy silence between the two of us for a few seconds before I finally confessed, "Bonnie, there's so many things I need to change and I don't even know where to begin."

"Why don't you start from the beginning and…" Bonnie started to say, but she was cut off by the ringtone of her cell in her pocket. She quickly rolled her eyes, annoyed at the intrusion, and pulled the thing out of her jeans. She glanced down at the screen and huffed, "It's Damon. I swear he has a sixth sense when it comes to you. Then again he's been calling almost every hour to check up on you, so I guess I can't blame this on his supernatural senses."

All it took was the simple sound of his name to evoke a response from my body. Tingles shot straight down my spine and I shivered at the reaction. Despite the shivers, warmth started to spread through me and I instantly felt my growing longing to see him. It had just bordered on uncontrollable when I snapped myself out of my love sickness and grabbed onto Bonnie's hand.

"He knows?" I practically screamed.

She looked at me like I was batshit crazy, which I guess was appropriate considering my mood switch, and justified, "You've been out for three days. It's kind of hard coming up with a lie to cover that up."

"Shit," I muttered as I frantically shook my head back and forth.

I hadn't even started unloading my future onto Bonnie yet and already Damon wanted to appear. I still had so many issues that I needed to work out first before I even contemplated preparing myself to see him. I felt my heart frantically thumping inside of my ribcage, from both excitement and unease, and it was more than evident that I was in no state to handle that portion of my future just yet.

So, I tightened my grip around Bonnie's wrist and ordered, "Just tell him I haven't woken up yet."

She eyed me suspiciously, but before she had the opportunity to question the issue further, I begged, "Please."

After a quick eye roll, she muttered, "Fine, but we have a lot to talk about once I'm done with him."

I nodded my head just as she answered the phone. I vaguely heard her inform Damon I was still asleep, but honestly my mind was darting in too many different directions to pay attention. The pit of my stomach was all twisted in on itself and I felt myself starting to get nauseas.

It only took another second for me to bolt to the bathroom and wrap myself around the toilet. Liquid spewed into the awaiting bowl and I knew the reason behind this sudden need for release. There was a full on battle occurring inside of me. One side represented my present feelings for Stefan and the other my future feelings for Damon, which I guess were now also considered present feelings as well. Both were fighting valiantly to claim the territory of my heart and I immediately felt guilty over not knowing which side would come out the victor.

I was suddenly beginning to understand what Isobel had meant by telling me I was doomed carrying a Salvatore on each arm when Bonnie breached the bathroom door and asked, "Are you alright?"

With no sign of any lingering vomit threatening to spill out, I quickly swiped the back of my forearm across my lips. I then stood up and said, "I'm fine."

She watched me hesitantly as I made my way over to the bathroom sink and held my mouth under the steady stream of water. After my third rinse, I turned to look at her and reassuringly lied, "I'm just feeling a bit loopy from all of this time traveling. That's all."

I'm not 100% sure why I lied, but I knew part of the reason was my embarrassment over getting sick about my feelings towards these two brothers. After everything I'd learned from the spell, that hardly seemed the most important issue to focus on.

But Bonnie seemed to sense something was up, because she frowned at me and said, "Elena, before you even begin filling me in on what happened, I need to admit something to you. I know you've seen your future and want to change things about it and I'm pretty sure I know what you want to change."

"You do?" I questioned in disbelief. Was it possible that she knew what happened _later_ in my future?

"Yeah," she replied with a nod of her head. "I know what happens to Stefan and I know what happens between you and Damon; not all of the gritty details since I only had a few thoughts about it during the wedding. I also know you had to of seen it at some point in your future, but at my wedding you were with another guy; a gorgeous guy in fact, and you were happy. I'm not sure if you experienced that particular moment, but from what I could see, you _were_ happy. And you don't need to feel guilty about it. I mean, I'm sure seeing that had to be hard, but what I really wanted to show you through this whole thing was that your world didn't always have to revolve around the Salvatores. It's okay to move on."

I felt my shoulders sag as she neared the end of her monologue. I'd momentarily let myself build hope that she could help me figure out how to save these two brothers that it was apparently alright to move on from. But that didn't appear to be the case, because if she knew anything about the link between Damon and Klaus and the momentary means of survival that I offered, she would have focused on that.

Instead she'd focused on a misinterpreted moment of my life where I wasn't completely happy and insisted this be my future. I contemplated this for the shortest second; me ignoring everything I'd learned and focusing instead on living my life. Nothing had started with Damon and I couldn't possibly see a way to save Stefan, so it could have been easy and no one would have known the better.

But like I said, I contemplated this for the _shortest_ possible second, because I couldn't ignore the increasing yearning I felt for Damon due to the feelings that had followed me back to the present. Apparently something _had_ started between us, whether I wanted it to or not. And I sure as hell couldn't deny my insistent need to save Stefan somehow, because something _still_ continued between us, whether I wanted it to or not.

The battle for territorial claim continued inside of me and I realized that no matter which path I chose, I would always be tied to one of these brothers. Of course, Damon's tie was a physical one, but the emotional one was still left up for grabs. As it stood now, they both had one hell of a grip on it.

"Did you hear a word I just said?" Bonnie asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Sorry," I stated as I shook the thoughts from my mind. I then lifted my eyes, which had drifted to the ceramic tiles of her bathroom floor, and declared, "I know it's hard to understand, but so many events happened, Bonnie, that make it impossible for my world to not revolve around the Salvatores. I know it's not the life you wanted for me and I get that, but trust me when I say that there's a time when you accept it. I don't want to drag out our differences this go around, so before I open up and explain what happened in my future, I need you to be behind that fact. Believe me, you'll understand once I'm through."

She stared blankly at me for the longest time, weighing the weight of my words, before she finally asked in a halfway teasing tone, "You sure we can't change _that_ portion?"

Typical Bonnie; always so difficult to persuade. It didn't surprise me, so I smiled at her question and answered, "I wouldn't even be able to if I tried."

Bonnie sighed as she accepted defeat. "Fine, you're the one who's seen your future, so I'll take your word for it. I'm behind you," she offered as her hand flew lifelessly through the air.

After reading my skepticism, she rolled her eyes and assured much more earnestly this time, "I promise."

"Alright then," I announced, gaining satisfaction in the fact that I'd already set my future off on a better course.

"I'll start you off at the beginning and won't skip a thing." I declared before I walked over to take a seat on her bed. As she settled beside me I explained, "It's a long story, but I need you to listen carefully because you're going to help me figure out how to change it."

She nodded her head in affirmation, but just as I started to unload the forthcomings of my life, I couldn't help but feel conflicted over what segments I really wanted to change.

* * *

><p><strong>- Three Hours Later -<strong>

"It all just sounds so romantic, you know, in that tragic against-all-odds love story type way," Caroline assessed dreamily for about the hundredth time since Bonnie and I filled her in on my future. She'd voiced her opinion numerous times over which brother she thought I should pick, but I still hadn't and right now was not the time to do so.

Right now it was time to execute our plan and save them both. Once I'd done that, I'd have time to figure out my fucked up emotions.

So, I ignored her comment and instead focused my attention on Bonnie who was dangling a crystal over a blown up map of Glenwood, Utah, and said, "Since Klaus' protective spells prevents us from searching out him or Stefan specifically, just focus on finding _any_ vampire or supernatural entity. It's a tiny town, so I can't imagine there would be any others besides them there."

Bonnie nodded her head and started chanting while Caroline and I hovered on the other side of the map. The crystal moved in wide circles and I prayed this back door method would yield us results; it had to, because it was the only move we had to find Stefan.

We all waited patiently as the crystal continued its motions. Just when I'd begun to lose hope, the circles contracted and started to focus on a single area. My eyes widened in achievement when it finally rested on a single line on the map. I leaned over to get a better look, before Bonnie removed the crystal and read the street name out loud.

I couldn't believe we'd actually done it. We knew where they were and our plan held the possibility of success. I wanted to rejoice over our small victory, but I knew time was of the essence because Klaus had said they'd only remain in the tiny town for a month and we were quickly approaching that deadline. So instead of wasting precious time, I flipped my legs over and stood up from the bed. "Alright then, let's go," I ordered impatiently.

We sprinted down the stairs and headed to Bonnie's car, grabbing the cooler containing two bags of my blood we'd obtained thanks to Caroline's ability to compel the nurse at the hospital to draw from my arm an hour ago, and loaded it into the trunk. As we settled into our seats, I noticed we were all smiling, even despite the danger we knew we were putting ourselves in, because the prospect of saving these brothers was something we all wanted. And I couldn't help but swell at the notion that my girlfriends were behind my decision and understood why I needed to do this.

Caroline had just made a remark about how unnecessary it was to bring two blood bags when all Klaus needed was a drop and Bonnie had just switched the car into reverse when I heard the hum of _his_ mustang pull into the driveway. Although I didn't need confirmation, I whipped my head around as the blue vehicle came into view and witnessed a mixture of panic and relief.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Bonnie spat, her voice emitting the same agitation I currently had fizzing beneath my surface.

"I'm sorry, I called him," Caroline confessed softly from the back seat. We both turned around and glared at her. With her eyes focused on the floor, she appeared only slightly ashamed as she admitted, "I thought he deserved to know, since apparently neither one of you we're going to tell him about the life he shares with Klaus."

That statement completely erased any sense of excitement I'd had over Damon's arrival. I was experiencing only full blown panic over the fact that Caroline had told him details of my future.

"What exactly did you tell him, Caroline?" I asked accusingly.

Her eyes lifted at my heightened state and immediately she understood how terrified I was, and what I was so terrified about, because she assured, "Nothing about your relationship, I promise. Just a little of what you saw, the details concerning our plan for getting Stefan back, and saving his life in the process."

Although I felt a tiny twinge of relief at that fact, I glared at her and I could imagine I resembled one of those ferocious bulls, rage implied by the steam searing through my nostrils, ready to charge and take the bitch down. Because I hated her at the moment, more than I even hated Klaus because she knew I wasn't ready to see Damon.

But she stared back at me with a conniving grin slashed across her lips. It was the same grin I always envisioned Elizabeth Bennet's mother from _Pride and Prejudice_ sporting whenever one of her scheming plans worked efficiently; the plans she devised when playing matchmaker with her daughters and suitable husbands. And it was then that I realized Caroline was doing the same thing.

She'd known that Damon would never let us go off and save Stefan from Klaus on our own. And more importantly, she hadn't just informed Damon of our plan because she felt he deserved to know the link he shared with Klaus, but more so it was the fact that he deserved to know why it mattered so much to me that I save them _both_.

And she wanted me to accept it, deal with it, and figure it out as well.

Caroline read the understanding expression that transitioned across my angered face and her smile only grew. She lifted her eyebrows at me and affirmed, "It's time to start figuring out your future, _every_ part of it."

I wanted to scream at her that this wasn't the way I had intended on doing it. The side of me that still loved Stefan knew it wasn't fair to see Damon because as soon as I did, his troops would win the battle over my heart. That's why I needed to deal with everything else first. Save Stefan, revert him back to the vampire I know we could, and give them both a fair shot in this whole thing.

That was what was _supposed_ to happen.

I vaguely heard Bonnie figure out Caroline's motive and mutter, "You should have at least let her decide when the timing was right." I was about to argue right alongside my best friend when Damon stepped out of his car and began to make his way to us.

We all remained silent, knowing whatever we said now he would surely hear, but I was silent for a completely different reason. I watched him intently, my eyes transfixed on his figure and the details that slowly came into view with each step he took towards us. I could feel my jaw sagging and if it were possible, I'm sure I would have melted into a pool of overwhelming emotions right there on the passenger's seat.

He was beautifully brilliant in a way no future memory could have prepared me for and I mentally cursed the fact that he'd chosen to wear his leather jacket that I loved so much. It was freaking May for god's sake. It was completely unnecessary and only allowed his troops to take a step closer towards the center line splitting my heart down the middle, or was he already stepping over the line? I wasn't entirely sure.

Honestly, I wasn't sure about anything because my mind was in a haze. I only realized the ridiculous state I'd found myself in when I heard Bonnie and Caroline's doors shut and saw them outside the car. Feeling like an idiot, I shook my head and took a deep breath. I told myself to focus on what was important today, not the fucked up desires of my heart, and that was what I did as I removed myself from the car as well.

I kept my reserved as I walked over to the, already in progress, discussion between Damon and the girls just in time to hear him argue sarcastically, "I understand your internal needs to act out a scene from Charlie's Angels, but if anyone's going to save my brother, it's going to be me."

"We don't need you to tag alone, Damon, we'll be fine on our own," Bonnie argued.

Although, I kept my attention away from Damon, I saw his blur as he shook his head dismissively and objected, "The three of you heading off to make a deal with Klaus' has recipe for disaster written all over it. Plus it's a two day trip for someone like you who drives like their on life support. I; however, can make it in day if I do this alone."

I'm not sure what came over me, but instantly I felt the words forming on top of my tongue and before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Damon's right. We don't have much time, so it's better if he goes." And then, just because I hadn't fucked this up enough already, I somehow felt the need to add, "But I'm going with him."

Bonnie shot me a confused look, Caroline sported a satisfied grin, and Damon surprised me by not arguing.

"Fine, but we're taking my car," he complied and for the first time his eyes turned to meet mine. They pierced into me and I instantly regretted my previous suggestion. But I couldn't go back on it now, so I shot him a forced smile and mustered up the words, "Okay, let's go."

As Damon lowered himself into the driver's seat of his car, I headed over to Bonnie's. I'd just pulled out the cooler when she appeared by my side and asked, "What the hell?"

"I don't know," was all I could say as I turned and headed towards Damon's mustang, because I honestly didn't. I had just offered myself up as company to a vampire I had all of these unspoken feelings for and I had to be insane if I thought I could get through this trip without confronting them.

"Have fun!" Caroline said enthusiastically as I walked past her and I resisted my urge to kick her in the shin because I couldn't help but feel like her plan had worked out exactly as she'd hoped.

I shot her a disgruntled look before I opened the passenger door and lowered myself into the seat. I set the cooler in the back, careful not to make contact with Damon's shoulder as I did so, just as he backed out of the driveway.

I didn't look at him as we did because I could already feel my heart in the back of my throat, and this time I wish I had the ability to kick myself in the shins.

Because I was a moron, and as we hit the road and he switched the car into drive, I tried to figure out what the hell had come over me. Why the hell had I just placed myself in this situation?

The answers to these questions were what frightened me the most because I knew what they were and it was only a matter of time before Damon knew too.

* * *

><p><strong>Please read and review, but if you want to hold off until you've read the whole chapter, I totally understand that too.<strong>

**Now, I know this post ended up being more of a transitional one and there was barely any Delena interaction, but I promise to make it up to you in the second half.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Alright guys, this is what you've been waiting for and I hope it doesn't disappoint! It starts off right where we left off and since it's the second half of the last chapter some of the metaphors I was using continued over.**

_**Other than that, I really hope you like it! :)**_

* * *

><p>We rode the few streets that led us to the highway in silence. I'm sure Damon could sense that the silence wasn't comfortable, considering my legs were mashed against the door and my posture was as stiff as a board, but to my relief he hadn't mentioned it. Instead he remained unsettlingly quiet.<p>

The air in the car felt thick; so thick that only a razor sharp, 5-star rated knife would be able to cut through it. And this was because I had no idea what to say and for some reason he wasn't speaking. It was like the English language had suddenly become unfamiliar to us.

When we merged onto the highway, Damon kicked the speed up to somewhere I had to assume was in the upper hundreds. The speed should have terrified me, but all I could focus on was my extreme awareness of how close his body rested next to mine. Every inch of my skin tingled as I remembered how it felt to touch him and have him touch me in return. It remembered the way his lips felt pressed against my own and the way it felt with him inside of me…

"Why didn't you fight me when I said I wanted to tag along?" I abruptly asked because I _needed _conversation to keep my mind from drifting to the sensation of his skin on mine.

He turned to look at me as we continued to tear down the highway and my heart strummed away at the sight of his electric eyes. Only half of me begged that he'd mistake my personal acceleration as fear over his eyes not being positioned on the road and not that it was because they were focused on me.

And it appeared he did, because his signature smirk slid into place and he replied, "Because you're not the worst company in the world, Elena, and this is going to be a long trip." The sight of his smirk allowed Damon's troops, who had apparently crossed over the middle line dividing my heart, to take another step into Stefan's territory and his reminder of Georgia had them taking another.

I was mentally replaying blissful moments I'd shared with Stefan and tapping my fingers nervously against my leg when Damon turned his attention back onto the road and declared, "My turn. Why did you have Bonnie lie to me about you waking up? I've been going crazy and I thought we were closer than that."

He'd attempted to remove all emotion from the statement, but failed to completely remove the subtle suffering edge to it. I hated hearing it and I felt the troops take another step forward.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't think you'd let us follow through with our plan if we involved you," I replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, since I'd initially assumed this would've been the case if we _had_ filled him in on our plans, but it was also a much easier answer to give than the full truth. And I knew the answer would be justifiable in his mind.

He nodded, kept his focus on the windshield, and questioned, "Because Klaus is psychotic and lashed out and killed you in your future?"

My head snapped to the side in shock. I felt like I'd just been hit with a stun gun and I stared at him because I never imagined Caroline would have filled him in about _that_. And also because I seriously didn't understand how he was acting so calm about it; it was completely uncharacteristic of him.

He turned, smirk sliding across his face again at my expressional response, and explained, "Caroline has a big mouth. If you want anything kept secret you don't want to tell her."

"What all did Caroline tell you about my future?" I asked, suddenly extremely nervous over what his answer might be.

His attention remained focused on me as he narrowed his eyes seductively and teased, "Why? Are there things I shouldn't know?"

"If there was, I wouldn't admit it anyway," I countered back playfully knowing for sure that Caroline hadn't spilled the beans about our future because if she had he'd of rubbed it uncomfortably right there in my face.

"I have ways of getting you to spill," he threatened with a devilishly handsome grin, confirming he had no clue.

"I'd like to see you try," I countered impulsively, my best adorable defense face intact. Then I realized that I was edging dangerously close to the flirting line and immediately withdrew my eyes from his and repositioned myself in my seat. We weren't a couple and although it felt natural to behave that way around him, I had to remind myself that it wasn't entirely appropriate. But I couldn't ignore how comfortable the interaction had been and I felt his troops charge into Stefan's territory with full speed.

Jesus, Damon wasn't even trying and the battle felt like a full on massacre of Stefan's side.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Damon's had narrowed as he tried to figure out my sudden mood change. Then they shifted to the road and he reverted back to our previous discussion. "But back to the topic at hand, I'm not worried about Klaus killing you this time. From the way Caroline explained things, I'm assuming he only killed you because he was on the verge of death, which considering that it hasn't been a decade yet, he's not quite there."

He then paused and I assumed he was done, but then he added, "And besides, I plan on leaving you at a hotel when I pay him a visit anyway."

Well, that explained why he was so calm about the matter. I turned on him with full force and challenged, "That's not going to happen."

He didn't even dignify my reaction by looking in my direction when he argued, "It is, because otherwise the spell I had Bonnie cast a few weeks ago to protect and secure your location from Klaus would be for nothing. But ultimately because you coming with me isn't an option. Your life isn't something I'm willing to risk."

"And you storming in and pissing off Klaus with your snarky attitude only to get yourself killed isn't an option either! _Your_ life isn't something _I'm_ willing to risk." I shot back, only vaguely aware of how close my hand got to his shoulder when I threw it around in the air.

"Give me a break, Elena; I'm smarter than to go in there with guns blazing. I'm perfectly capable of having a civilized conversation with the guy," he muttered beside me.

"Are you?" I asked mimicking the tone drop his voice had taken. "Because I had a hard time accepting the fact that in order to keep you alive I had to keep him alive as well. I can only imagine how well you're going to handle that fact when you come face to face with him."

I saw his eye roll and slight head shake. Then my words fell like a dead weight onto the floor of the car and a heavy silence settled over us. We remained like this for the longest time before Damon finally broke it and questioned, "Do you just fight me because it's in your nature to do so?"

I scrunched up my nose because I didn't argue without reason, and this time I had a very important reason behind doing so. "No, I fight you because if I don't, you'll do something reckless and get yourself killed," I answered defensively.

At that answer he furrowed his brows, and I noticed him mull my answer around in his head. Suddenly, he swerved the car onto the side of the interstate and adjusted the clutch into the parked position. I wasn't even worried that we were wasting time by being parked on the side of the road when he turned on me. His left arm rested on top of the steering wheel, his right on the back of his seat, when he asked, "I understand why you want to save Stefan's life, but why are you always so worried about saving mine?"

"Because I need to save you!" I responded impulsively. And as soon as the words left my lips I realized that was why Stefan had no chance in defending his reign over my heart. It didn't matter if I saw him or we brought him back to who he used to be, because I already knew that I only wanted to save Stefan, but I _needed_ to save Damon. There was no point in trying to fool myself anymore; it was the reason we were going on this trip, not to bring Stefan back, but to hopefully change the progression of Damon's stages in the future. A future I'd already lived that I could only alter, but never erase.

Because my moments with Damon made that impossible. The intimacy, the connection, the feeling of being finally complete in such an exhilarating way - that could never be erased. I could choose to ignore the way I'd felt and still feel; choose the easy road, the one I had been, where I picked Stefan. It would be so much simpler and it could last forever, whereas my relationship with Damon never could. But my relationship with Stefan would never compare to what I had with the old brother; the one that made me feel.

And as he watched me with his blue, indescribably blue, eyes, waiting for an answer because mine really hadn't been one, I felt a mixture of everything. I felt anxious because I wanted to set our future in motion. I didn't want to waste any more time; I'd learned the importance of it and frankly I'd already wasted enough. I felt terror because I knew the admittance of how I felt towards him _did_ set everything in motion. We'd live a version of the future I'd already seen and although I wouldn't make the same mistakes, there were still circumstances that were beyond my control and there was a chance it could end the exact the same way. And then I felt acceptance once I realized it didn't matter. I'd still die for him, I'd kill for him, I'd defend him; I'd do anything but choose to live the rest of whatever time we both had without him.

That was when I felt love; that familiar all-consuming, earth rattling love. And I was only slightly surprised to notice it was the most comforting feeling I'd had all day. It was then that I finally stopped fighting and allowed the tiny remaining portion of my heart that still belonged to Stefan to be taken over by Damon; not like I ever really had much of a choice in the matter anyway.

And that was why I finally let my hand reach out and grab onto his cheek. The contact sent a jolt of energy straight through me and I suddenly felt alive. I smiled at the feeling and confessed softly, "And also, because you and I have something."

"An understanding, I know," he scoffed as his irises momentarily disappeared beneath his upper lids.

"A future," I corrected. "A tragic, crazy, demanding, beautifully passionate one. Complete with broken hearts and obstacles that never stop coming, but despite everything that got in our way; we still remained nothing less than stellar."

I was very aware that Damon was looking at me like I was explaining the mathematical equation for defining gravity, but his dumbfounded expression did little to slow my speed. My hand had removed itself from his skin, my arms were full of life as they jolted through the air, and I continued, "And I've always fought for your life because I guess a part of me has always known that our potential sat right beneath the surface waiting to breach it. And now that I've lived it and felt what it was like to embrace that potential, I can't shake the way I felt during it. And that's why I'll continue to fight for your life, because while I've learned so many things from the spell's experience, the most important one is that while I may be your lifeline physically, you're mine in every other sense of the word."

I then stopped and took a deep breath, suddenly aware that I hadn't taken one during my entire speech. To my surprise, Damon said nothing, but instead sat there with a disconcerted look on his face; eyes directly on mine, but not focusing on them. I remained impatiently still, every fiber of my being begging me to reach out and smooth that look from his face, but my insecurities had me frozen in place. Because I'd just poured my heart out and laid everything on the line only to have stunned him into silence.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that the moment I finally gave in to Damon he would shut down like this, but he had. He wasn't breathing, he wasn't moving, he was still; even those goddamn eyebrows of his were immobile. And as I watched him warily I started to doubt the way I'd unloaded everything on to him. I always assumed he could handle anything I'd throw at him, including all of the low blows and pain I'd thrown his way in the past and also the times he didn't know about, but apparently when it came to giving him what he wanted, it was too much.

But then he finally took a breath and his eyes shifted just slightly enough to reassure me I hadn't shocked him into a coma. When the rest of his body started to move, I anxiously awaited his response, but instead he opened his car door and stepped out onto the side of I-40.

I sat there like a deer in headlights as he made his way to stand just along the edge of the forest that lined the interstate. I was utterly stunned because never during any of my interactions with Damon had he been at a loss for words and in need of separating himself from me and I wanted to smack myself upside the head because maybe I'd poured out the emotions too strong, too soon.

I remained in the car desperately trying to figure out what had happened. I'd always been so confident in my ability to read him and predict his actions, but in all honesty, it didn't matter if I knew every aspect that was Damon Salvatore; he was unpredictable and never failed to keep surprising me. It was one of the many characteristics that set him apart from everyone else, including Stefan, the one who had transitioned into the _other_ brother instead of _the_ brother, and it had me throwing open my door.

I didn't take slow hesitant steps as I made my way to him, although considering his rigid stance I should have, and began, "Damon, I know for you this has to appear like it's coming out of nowhere…"

"It's not what you said or your abrupt delivery," he interrupted softly, cutting me off.

He paused and took an unnecessary breath before continuing, "I've waited to hear something like that from you for the longest time and I always assumed I would eventually; though, you're right, I never expected it to be so soon. And yeah, the fact that you've suddenly lived out our entire relationship without my own personal involvement is a little unnerving, but it's not the craziest thing I've come across in my lifetime. I've handled worse."

He then turned around and I didn't even realize I'd stopped my forward motion along with my words until I noticed how far away he still was. But then, almost reacting to every desire I'd been harboring within me, he flashed in front of me and closed the unbearable distance between us. His brows were furrowed, forming three distinct lines across his forehead, as he explained, "It's the fact that I now understand why you died in your future and that need to sacrifice yourself for me is not something I can set in motion. No matter how much I want to."

The way his expression sat portrayed how very much he wanted to. I hadn't missed the finality in his tone, but refused to sit back and abide by it. So, I tightened my features and threw as much determination into my words as humanely possible, and countered, "It's not something I really have a choice about anymore. I love you and there's nothing that could possibly happen in this lifetime that's going to reverse that. So don't you see, I'd sacrifice myself either way, even if you didn't accept me."

His expression softened as I spoke those three very important words for the first time in _this_ lifetime, but by the end of my speech he'd pulled himself back together and argued, "I don't care, Elena. You need to get the concept of you and me out of your head because I will not let you die for me!"

I didn't even flinch when he ignored the three words or at his heightened tone; I'd gotten used to this means of communication. Instead, I stepped up on my tip toes, inched my face forward so it was right in his, and argued back, "That's why we're changing it! So I don't have to!"

At my closeness, he took a step back and shot me an incredulous look. "With a pair of blood bags in the back seat and a make-shift plan to cut a deal with Klaus? It's not going to happen and I'm sure as soon as your within 100 feet of the psychopath, he'll drain you dry because he's a _monster_, Elena. He's been a killer his entire life, so what makes you think he'll suddenly change that now?"

It didn't surprise me that Damon had little faith in Klaus. He'd been let down by this supernatural world too many times to ever invest faith in something or someone other than himself. I couldn't help him with the first, but I could ensure him that the latter could be changed.

So I suddenly lowered my voice and professed, "I don't know for sure that he will, but I can guarantee you I'll make it out alive this time."

"And how is that?" he questioned.

I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my head to the side as I answered, "Because you're going to give me your blood."

"Oh really?" he asked cynically before he bit into his wrist and threw it in my face. He wore a smug expression, sure that he'd just called my bluff, and was shocked when I grabbed onto the thing without hesitation and took a deep gulp.

Damon watched me with lids retracting back far enough for me to see all of the white of his eyes. He was too stunned to stop my actions, but I only took one sip. It was enough to seal my fate and prove my point, but not enough to sexually affect my body the way I knew his blood had the power of doing so.

The flabbergasted expression still rested on his face when I pulled away, wiped my lips, and declared, "Insurance policy in-tact. I'll survive our visit with Klaus."

He looked at his wrist before he dragged his other hand through his raven hair and remarked, "Now I know you've gone off the deep end. You don't want to be what I am."

"Your right, I didn't," I replied. And I'm not sure if it was his blood swimming through my veins or the color burning from his eyes after my sudden committal action, but I suddenly found the confidence to reach out and touch the side of his cheek.

Fire scorched the palm of my hand as it rested against his porcelain skin; symbolically representing the fire that continued to burn for him inside of my chest, as I softly professed, "But things change, especially when you realize there's someone worth sharing longer than a normal lifetime with."

My confession had struck its mark and I saw his resistance slowly slide away as he offered ruefully, "I can't guarantee you I'll even last that long."

The thought of him not doing so had my second hand latching on to the other side of his cheek as I assured, "But _I_ can guarantee you that I'm not wasting my knowledge this time around, or our time fighting what I feel for you. I understand the power of the first and the importance of the second. So you're just going to have to trust me; this deal _will_ work and so will we."

"You're entirely too confident," he halfway laughed out.

"And you, uncharacteristically, are not," I teasingly observed, resulting in a playful eye roll and soft chuckle from his end.

Then his expression suddenly changed and I knew things were about to take a turn.

"What about Stefan?" he asked.

His statement hadn't held a possessive tone, but I knew he had every right to ask the question. To him it must have appeared like I'd jumped right from one to the other, but that wasn't the case at all. "I've had an entire lifetime to figure out it's not always going to be Stefan. It took me too long to figure that out the first time around, but I can promise you that from now on, it's always going to be you."

I could see my words had had an effect, but Damon hid his satisfaction well and clarified, "You don't need to reassure me on the change of heart, I get it. But that's not what I meant. This is gonna break him and we'll have no chance of repairing Klaus' damage once he hears that you've moved on; especially to me."

I'd already given this thought. I knew waking up today that even if I did save them both, that I would ultimately still end up hurting one of them. I could bear the weight of hurting Stefan and not Damon, but that didn't mean I wanted to. I wanted him to get better and I wanted him to still have a life after I manhandled his heart, so I justified, "I don't think you give him enough credit where you're concerned. He saved you for a reason. And besides we'll keep this a secret until he's better."

"That's not going to be easy," he reasoned.

I couldn't contain my laugh. He watched me quizzically until I finally got the thing out of my system and explained, "Trust me, nothing about us is."

Concern etched across his features as he asked, "Then why do you still want to be with me?"

"Because it's worth it," I mused, internally flipping through memories of us together that could rectify my future. "And because I explained incorrectly before. It's not us that isn't easy; it's the world that makes it difficult. You and me, when the world lets us be, we're remarkably effortless," I clarified, closing my eyes as the last word fell from my lips.

"You and me?" he questioned skeptically when I reopened my eyes, an edged disbelief tainting the words that fit so perfectly together.

I laughed in amusement again because three days ago I would have questioned my statement the very same way. But I knew the reality of it now and that assurance laced my voice as I said airily, "Who'd of thought, right?"

He stared at me, uncertainty still streaming from those breathtaking blue eyes of his, when I cocked my head to the side and proclaimed, "But just in case you don't believe me, I can prove it."

Damon's lips started to form a question along the lines of, "How so?" when I capture them with mine. I knew I probably should have waited until I at least had his consent, but any doubts I had about my abrupt act vanished as his arms wrapped around my back. He'd hesitated at first, but then he pulled me into him and further into the moment, momentarily forcing everything about our crazy lives to fade away.

Damon kissed me with all he had, every inch of his body simultaneously pushing into me and pulling me against him. I kissed him back with equal force, hands wrapping against the back of his head and burying themselves in his disheveled strands. Passion, lust, hunger, and love spiraled together sucking the very air from my lungs and replacing it was something otherworldly.

I had entered this moment knowing exactly what to expect, but my future memories did absolutely nothing to prepare me for how it actually felt to experience this act first hand.

It shattered the memory of our first kiss at the lake house, the kiss at the underground club in New York, our trillion sweet kisses that led up to the passionate kiss when we'd re-entered each other's lives, the kiss after I said "I Do," the last kiss we ever shared before I knew I'd die saving him; it shattered them all, because this time it was really me and him. Not a memory, but an actual moment that set the course of the rest of our future.

And it was the opportunities of this future that I held on to when our lips finally separated, leaving mine tingling and desperately craving more contact. I parted my lids to peer at Damon's whose lingered shut a moment longer before he finally blasted me with his eyes. They were unnaturally bright, brighter than I had ever witnessed before, and I knew I'd capture him. There was no going back at this point; for either of us.

He assured me of this when he cocked his head to the side, whipped his brows toward the sky, and declared, clearly awestruck, "We're definitely something."

I could feel my smile widen across my entire face. My lips tightened, my cheeks plumped up, and my eyes squinted as it fought for occupancy. I then whipped my brows at him in return and seductively quipped, "Just wait until you get to our sex life."

I didn't miss his guttural growl that followed my statement. Damon's hands slid their way to my hips and they tightened as he tried to reign in some control over his libido. He did this because he understood, exactly as I did, that our mission was unfortunately more important than our personal affairs. He licked his lower lip and cocked his head to the side, before he ordered, "As soon as we get my brother home and locked up in the cellar, we're setting Ric on watch duty and our first stop is your bedroom."

"Agreed," I submitted with a nod of my head, loving the idea of a rendezvous in my bed.

We then made our way to his car. Just as I lowered myself into the passenger's seat and Damon was about to close my door, I added, "But only if you let me come with you to cut a deal with Klaus. I'll come back now if he does anything stupid."

My door was shut and he was seated beside me before I had the chance to blink. His eyes were narrowed, but not threatening, as he lightly suggested, "We'll fight about it on the way. But first I want to hear about our future, and I don't want you leaving out any of the juicy details."

I laughed as his eyes did their signature flirty thing and decided it was a long car ride, so what the hell; I could fill him in on our future. He deserved to know everything, even the low portions because they'd brought me here; to him.

So I mimicked, as best I could, his special eye move and assured, "Okay, but just so you know, it's not all great and I made some really stupid mistakes that I won't be repeating. But I'm planning on reliving some of our better moments."

Damon shot me a pleasing grin and replied, "I can handle whatever you throw my way and you better," as he shifted the mustang into drive. We sped onto the highway, determined to save Stefan, as I began to tell him a version of our future that'd we'd already jumpstarted the sequence of. The difference this time was that I'd settled for nothing less than changing the darker portions.

* * *

><p><strong>- June 6, Present Day -<strong>

We tore down the highway back to Mystic Falls. The warm air was coming in through the open window, whisping random strands of hair around my face. I took a deep breath and settled into a comfortably light state of relief. I wasn't naïve enough to let myself accept that this morning had been our final victory, although Damon and I had come out with exactly what we wanted from the trip. That was because our interactions with Klaus would never fully be severed. He was part of Damon's future, therefor a part of my future, whether we wanted him to be or not.

It wasn't ideal, but it kept Damon alive and that was more important than our personal opinions regarding the deranged hybrid.

That very hybrid had been easy to find once we reached the tiny town him and Stefan had been residing in. He'd been defensive at first, so confident that our appearance was due to our desire to find a way to kill him. But he was an original after all, _the_ original; so when we'd asked to sit down and speak with him instead of storming in guns blazing, as Damon liked to say, Klaus had obliged.

The hybrid had been arrogant, cocky, and I knew it pained Damon not being able to lay a hand on the asshole that had single handedly tried to destroy the welfare of his brother. But he resisted and Klaus' attitude changed once he learned we were there to help him prolong his life instead of abruptly end it; _like we even could_.

I always assumed Klaus had known about the link and timeline all along, never really taking into account the stupidity behind choosing to take on both supernatural forms and create a deadline for himself when the opportunity of forever was available. That was because I figured a power-hungry monster like him wouldn't be able to see past the supremacy of it all. Everyone knew power had its downfalls, but to me Klaus didn't really seem like the type that would mind.

Apparently I'd been wrong. The information about his deadline had been news to him and it turns out he wasn't going to find out until later in our future. Which I guess made sense to me. Even someone like him wouldn't really choose to place a deadline on his life for more power would he?

Klaus had been skeptical at first, wary of accepting the information, but after some explanation he'd ultimately heeded our warning. That was when the tables turned and I saw a side of him I never expected existed. He wasn't exactly grateful, but his edge had dissipated and he was clearly impressed that we'd had the courage to visit him knowing he could hold me, his cure, captive if he wanted.

It was then that I expected Damon's territorial rage to get in our way, but his rage only seemed to have amused Klaus rather than anger him.

We didn't chat long, just long enough to supply him the necessary information I'd acquired about the restrictions to his new body as well as the conditions regarding my blood. Then I'd told him what we wanted in return for the knowledge and blood. He'd obliged almost too easily, but then again I knew Stefan had already become a nuisance, so his agreeance hadn't come as a surprise.

We then left with our precious cargo. I turned to look back at Stefan. He was currently resting in the back seat, injected with enough vervain to keep an elephant unconscious for days. He looked peaceful and I knew a part of me would always love him for what he'd gotten me through in the past. He'd been a crucial part of my rebirth after the death of my parents and it was because of him that I'd been introduced into the supernatural world in the first place. I'd always care about him, that I knew, but there was always one person I'd care about more.

My eyes then drifted over to the cooler seated next to Stefan. It contained one of the two blood bags we'd brought with us. It had been my idea in case Klaus lost control and decided to drain me dry. That way, regardless of what happened, we'd still have supplies for the future. I thought about that future for the shortest second and smiled before I turned back around and focused my attention to the open window.

As I watched the road signs and trees fly by, I thought about how lucky we'd made out and how simple the transaction had been with Klaus. He was a monster, I'd always remember that and I'd always flinch when I saw him because he _had_ killed me, twice, but I couldn't help but feel grateful that lying underneath of that monster rested someone civilized enough to respect honesty and not take advantage of it. He hadn't laid a hand on me and I'd made it out alive, and I knew it was because when it came down to it, his life was more important than threatening mine.

He didn't care about me; he just needed me to survive. But that was okay because the vampire driving beside me, with a victorious smirk that hadn't removed itself from his lips since we left, cared enough about me to make up for it. I glanced at Damon from the corner of my eye and knew that there was enough love shared between the two of us to keep the world spinning on its axis. And I knew that there was enough love coming from him to keep me from getting dizzy when it started to spin too fast.

His eyes shifted, obviously feeling my stare, so he could peer at me from the corner of his eye. Noticing he'd caught me in my gawking act, he chuckled to himself. Since I'd unloaded the truth about our future onto him earlier, this trip's conversation had been limited to small talk. We also did this because, according to Damon, sometimes it's possible for a passed out vampire to still hear conversations going on around them; like a coma patient. And as much as I wanted to flirt casually with him, my desire to hurt Stefan as little as possible had won out.

That was why I settled for a playful batting of my eyelashes instead of another declaration of my love. I took a peek back at Stefan, just to make sure he was still passed out, and then intertwined my fingers through Damon's free hand that was resting on the center console. He didn't shy away, but instead arched the tips of his fingers up to fully encompass my hand and shot me an adoring smile. And I was immediately overcome by how right everything felt.

My heart accelerated to its standard level I'd learned to expect in Damon's presence and it was that moment that I finally allowed myself to accept our small victory. Sure, Klaus wasn't out of the picture and we'd see him eventually to hand off another sample of my blood once he was finished the first bag, but he wasn't a threat. We'd established a civilized relationship and Damon's life was secure, for at least a while.

And I hadn't wasted any time figuring out what I wanted. As I looked at him now, I knew that this time we'd started our life out together the right way. The rest of it would fall into place eventually. For now I'd settle for just knowing that we were both on the same page and we'd end up in a better place than last time.

So I smiled at him, feeling happy, content, and secure in our future when he mouthed the words, "I love you."

My smile only grew after seeing it because I knew everything that came with that statement. So, I mimicked the words back and squeezed his hand before readjusting my position comfortably in the seat next to him. When I refocused my attention to the passing scenery, I knew that as soon as we got Stefan locked into the cellar downstairs I needed to thank Bonnie, well after our mandatory trip to my bedroom of course.

Because without peering into my future, I'd have never been given the possibility to learn from my mistakes. I wouldn't have learned the importance of time. I wouldn't have known how to rescue Stefan. I would have never learned how _not_ to hurt the one person that mattered the most. And I wouldn't have been able to save him.

But most importantly, I wouldn't have learned that in saving Damon I'd also saved myself. Because if I'd learned anything it was that my future was tied to him, however long that future lasted. He'd been my constant the first time and that was something I _definitely_ wasn't changing this time.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Please read and review. :)<strong>_

**I know I kind of skimmed over the whole thing with Klaus, but I figured you'd be more interested in Elena choosing Damon over Stefan. Also, this whole thing has been focused more on them than anything else, so it seemed to make sense to me.**

**I haven't figure out how far into the future I plan on writing the epilogue yet, but I hope to have it up soon. And yes, all of the characters will be included so you'll find out what happens with everyone else.**


	15. Epilogue

**Ugh. I know I suck so much at updating within a responsible time and responding to your reviews, but I promise it was because I literally HAD NO TIME. My bosses decided that I was apparently superhuman and piled on the work. Plus, I moved, which was a time suck all in itself. So I'm terribly sorry for taking so long to get this last piece up and hope you guys can forgive me.**

**Also, I had someone point out that the dates were wrong in the last two chapters and I just HAD to change them because otherwise it would have bugged the hell out of me. So yeah, super sorry for the three email alerts.**

**And finally, I had a lot of you request certain things in this epilogue and I wasn't able to include them all, but I tried my best. It's not as long as most of my other chapters, but it was really just written to wrap things up and show where everyone was. Not much dialogue, just a general overview.**

_**Hope you like it!**_

* * *

><p><strong>- Some Time In The Future -<strong>

I watched the sun come up over the horizon of Mystic Falls and stretched out my legs across the mixture of dirt and grass below as I soaked in its warmth. Rays of light streaked across the sky and through the various tress of the forest illuminating it with different hues of pinks and purples, but I peeled my eyes from the landscape to momentarily glance at the ring that allowed me to bask in its image.

It was the same engagement ring from my alternate lifetime I'd lived so many years ago; funny how certain things like that remained the same between the two. The transition had happened the day I'd reached Damon's age. It seemed to make the most sense and it allowed us enough years to completely stock pile the old cellar, which had now been converted into a gigantic refrigerator, with bags of my previous human blood. I thought about that supply now and felt content in the amount of years it provided for my future with Damon. I hadn't always been the greatest with math, but I knew enough to understand it meant we had at least a millennia together.

I smiled considering this time frame as my hand responsively slid its way across the blades of grass where Damon typically sat with me each morning. It would have been nice to start today of all days with him, but duty called about an hour ago and I couldn't hold it against him.

Taking one last look at the golden sky, I lifted myself from the earth and charged my way back into the woods. I side-stepped trees and ducked under branches as I tore through the neighboring forest of the boarding house. This morning routine was something I had started the day of my transformation. At first it had been Damon's way of settling my over-electrified body, but after years of adjusting I'd managed to reign in the extra boosts of energy.

The only reason the routine stuck around was because it gave me control. I loved how the earth felt under the soles of my sneakers and the way the wind swept through my hair when I pushed myself to my limits. The momentum was invigorating and the way my vision seemed to take in everything despite the speed was powerful.

Being a vampire had its upsides and every morning I took advantage of them.

When I found myself back at the doorsteps of the, _our_, boarding house I was surprised to hear the faint rustling of papers inside. I quickly opened the door only to find Damon sitting at the desk in the parlor. His feet were propped up on the dark wood and he was reading today's edition of the Mystic Falls Times.

He only ever did this to check out my articles. The ones I decided to write in this lifetime because I'd forgone the published novelist profession this time. Of course, the vampire semi-fiction's had been a breeze to write since I'd already written them, but in this life they'd simply been saved on my computer. I'd decided that whatever I'd lived through belonged to me and the people who'd been through the experiences with me. Those moments and the emotions I'd felt during them were precious and at this point I wasn't ready to share them with the world.

So, instead of the series about my vampire whirlwind of a romance, I'd settled for hard hitting news that struck Mystic Falls. Yeah, the town wasn't exactly crawling with newsworthy events like the big cities, but it kept me busy and gave me an outlet for my writing. It worked for now and novels could come later if I changed my mind. That was the beauty of eternity after all; nothing was ruled out indefinitely.

At my appearance, Damon scrunched up his nose in disgust and remarked, "You smell like pine." And then he shot me a sideways smirk just to solidify the fact that he was joking, before his nose scrunched back up.

Even in this new life, the perfection of his face, scrunched and all, still managed to slow me down when nothing else could. I chuckled softly at the image before I glided my way over to stand behind him. I lowered my head to place a kiss on top of his dark mess of hair and quipped back, "You love it." I then reached forward to grab the glass of blood seated on the desk in front of him and took a quick sip.

When I set it back down, I repositioned myself in front of him and inquired, "I thought you were helping Liz this morning with the animal attack." I made the quotations sign with my fingers around the last two words as the vision of Damon leaving his side of the bed at the crack of dawn this morning drifted across my memory.

He peered at me over top of the newspaper he was still pretending to read and explained, "For once in this town's history, it really was an animal attack. So I wasn't needed."

I nodded my head responsively at his information and took another sip at the blood resting on the desk. As I set it back onto the wood, Damon's feet flew down to the floor, the newspaper was thrown to the side, and I was pulled into his lap. His face was enticingly close and the seductive glint in his eyes instantly informed me of where we were headed.

Damon's fingers traced down my jawline and along my collarbone, hovering right about the edge of my camisole. The touch of his skin no longer felt like ice cubes against my warm flesh. Instead it matched the very temperature of mine, but that did little to reduce the chill it sent down my spine.

"_Or_ I might have told her I couldn't work today because you needed my help setting up the backyard for our big event," he mused with a sly grin stretched across his lips.

Big event was an extreme overstatement. There were a measly 11 people showing up this afternoon because we'd only invited people close enough to us to know what we were. It was going to be quite the intimate affair and Liz had gotten an invite, so she knew how little preparation was needed.

"For all of the guests that we invited," I replied sarcastically. "She actually bought that excuse?"

"Probably not," he answered as his head lowered down to the sweet spot of my neck. I felt a blend of quick snips from his extended fangs and soft kisses as he continued, "But regardless, I'm here, which gives us an extra hour to kill before Caroline shows up to destroy the backyard with her tacky decorations."

His hands had started making their way down the curvature of my sides, tracing over every divot he'd memorized over the years. By the time his hand made it to my thigh, my entire body was vibrating in sweet anticipation because he always knew exactly which moves cranked the bass on my internal stereo up to sonic blast. I knew he could feel it, the same way I could tell when he was turned on, but I didn't want to make it that easy.

Because Damon and I were equally matched at everything, except in the bedroom. This was where his appeal got the best of me and I seemed to lose all of my well-established control. One smoldering look from him and it suddenly felt like I was human again. Heart jump-starting in my chest, pulse rate accelerating to an ungodly speed, and wobbly knees practically begging me to fall over submissively.

I cherished and loathed the feeling simultaneously and occasionally tried to grasp for the upper hand.

So, in an attempt to do so, I smiled politely, removed myself from his lap, making sure my butt rubbed right against the bulge in his pants as I maneuvered myself up, and halfheartedly objected, "Too bad I need to start getting ready. Sorry sweetie, but today's an important day and I need to look my best."

He was up in a flash; hands wrapped around my waist and eyes desperate as he pleaded, "Why must you torture me? You know I don't care what you look like this afternoon."

He was pressed against my front now, allowing me to feel the effects of my work. I fought back a laugh, but failed miserably as it escaped along with my words. "Because you make it so easy."

His face transition from desperate to demanding at the sound of my enjoyment in his agony. His eyes narrowed seductively, goddamnit it was happening already. Then his hand latched onto the base strands of hair under my neck, and he playfully threatened, "This won't last long. You know I'm stronger than you."

Of course I knew that, but it didn't mean I couldn't take advantage of the moment with the feeble resistance I still had left. So I flashed out of his hold and to the other side of the room. My finger wiggled back and forth as a smug smile played on my lips and I teased, "Nobody likes a bragger, Damon, and besides, I'm faster than you."

He was against my back within an instant, hands roaming slowly over my sensitive areas. When one of his hands drifted beneath the fabric of my top and the other between my thighs, my equilibrium was knocked askew in that way he only had the magic of doing. My eyes then involuntarily closed and an unnecessary breath escaped from my lips.

"Which only comes into play if you _really_ wanted to get away," he whispered, his breath brushing lightly against the skin of my ear. I could feel his smirk through my closed lids, but was powerless against the wonder his fingers was now working between my legs.

"When did I get this easy?" I breathed out as he strummed masterfully against my clit, forcing my legs to buckle from beneath me.

I fell into his hold as he chuckled and replied, "When you came back from your witch concocted blast through the future."

Then my back was on the sofa and Damon's hands had repositioned themselves to rest on both sides of me. I groaned at the lack of contact he'd started and abruptly stopped because my body was in full needing mode at this point. I couldn't pretend to resist any longer; I needed to feel him on and in me.

He knew it too, because he was looking down at me with a conceited smirk that I would have normally swatted off of his face if I hadn't been so turned on, and he teased, "Now who's got the upper hand?"

I rolled my eyes at how easily I'd been defeated and answered begrudgingly, "You do." I then demanded, "Now stop teasing me," as my hands latched onto the sides of his face.

I heard him chuckle and mimic my own phrase, "But you make it so easy," before I captured his lips with mine. Then all talking ceased as his tongue slid into my mouth; circling and stroking mine in masterful succession. There was no exploring anymore; he knew every inch of my body, even the once mysterious canyons that dove inside. He'd long since discovered and claimed them all, figuring out all of the special spots that made my insides sing in pleasure.

It's exactly what he was doing now as his lips pressed roughly against my own and my legs wrapped their way around his waist. He rubbed against my center, only building my increasing surge of longing to an excruciating level when I felt his lips break away and the wind of a position change.

My camisole was ripped over my head and my cotton shorts were thrown to the ground as my legs straddled Damon's. My body was humming in anticipation as I slowly started to lower myself onto him, but before I could, my hair was whipping around my face and I was pushed against the wall.

My legs were spread open, each one resting on a separate shoulder as he inched his face forward and his tongue slid between my folds. I couldn't tell you what he was doing down there. Maybe he was licking out the alphabet; maybe he was just flicking his tongue up and down in the way that mimicked the sensation of a vibrator. All I know was that he was doing it masterfully and if I wasn't already lifted from the ground, I could have sworn my body was drifting somewhere towards the heavens.

Those pearly gates were just beginning to gleam across my vision when we flashed to a new location again. Apparently my moaning had been too much for Damon to endure because my legs once again straddled his on the sofa and this time I was able to slide onto his length.

He entered me smoothly, like I was lined with the finest silk and I had to fight off my first surge to release right then and there. As his hands slid to take firm hold of my hips, I began grinding on top of him. With each motion he slid seamlessly against my inner walls and I lowered my lips to once again devour his. I inhaled him in, loving the way his scent filled my lungs giving me life and aiding to my desires, as his hands started making their way to various locations of my body.

They were all over me; tangling themselves in the strands of my chestnut hair, latching onto my hips, sliding down my back, and somehow massaging my bare breasts all at the same time. He was everywhere, on and in every surface of my body and still I couldn't get enough of him.

His moves were precise; his motions patterned specifically to match mine almost as if we were designed for one another. When I picked up the pace, he sped right up with me; jerking my hips back and forth, up and down, every which way they would go to keep the pleasure building. And it did, rapidly.

As a vampire, my body was practically indestructible. It possessed the capability of bending, stretching, and twisting whichever way was required, but still, when my breaths turned into moans and finally into a repetition of his name and I reached that point, I seemed to shatter like frozen rubber. And like always, he broke with me.

I shivered and shook as my pieces continued to break before finally I collapsed on top of him. I took deeps breaths, more out of familiarity since I didn't need them, and relaxed my head against his shoulder. I let my lids drift closed, feeling content for the moment in remaining intertwined simply like this, only to have Damon's lips connect with my neck.

The kisses started out innocently enough, just sweet pecks along the lower curve that met with my shoulders, but then I felt his goddamn fangs and damnit if I wasn't already spilling out liquid lust for our second round.

That was all it took for me to feel Damon's satisfied smirk against my skin. I vaguely heard him muse, "Good, because we still have a half hour and I'm not nearly finished with you yet," before my hair was whizzing by and we landed on the floor missionary style.

And for just a brief second before he picked up where we'd left off, Damon gazed down at me with that familiar worshiping look in his eyes. His fingertips slid across my forehead removing a strand of my hair that was blocking his view of my face and I acknowledged that this was easily the most perfect way to ring in our wedding day.

* * *

><p>This time, the wedding went off without a single hitch. There had been no moment of doomed information before the ceremony or hysterical crying. Okay, so maybe Bonnie had let a few tears slide down her cheeks when she and Jeremy's twin toddlers, one boy and one girl, walked down the aisle. The first carried the wedding rings on a simple white pillow and the second floated white rose petals through the air and onto the ground with her mind.<p>

And alright, there had been a few tears as I walked down the aisle in my mother's wedding gown towards my future husband with Ric's arm laced through mine. And yeah, maybe Caroline bawled her eyes out when we'd spoken our personally written vows, complete with vampire lingo since everyone knew what we were. I think I even heard a sniffle from Meredith when we kissed passionately, setting the marriage in stone, and Damon arched me backwards for the dramatic effect.

But those were all tears of joy, emphasizing the happy faces and cheerful excitement that surrounded the day. They were expected at a wedding, even one designated for vampires.

That excitement extended into the reception, which consisted of one large table where we all sat around and ate the assortment of dishes each guest had supplied. Chatter and laughter filled the air as we took in the food, the champagne, and the general pleasure of each other's company.

Then the sky darkened, Caroline's white Christmas lights switched on, and the music started in.

And for such a small gathering of people, we had the ground shaking. The girls were haphazardly whipping their hair through the air and jumping to the rhythm of each song's particular beat, while the guys each took turns busting into random silly dances to evoke laughs from the others.

As I turned to look at Damon now, he was butchering some Irish jig with Stefan in an attempt to get Ric to keel over laughing. They were successful of course and I found myself giggling at their playful demeanors and marveled at how close they appeared now.

Their relationship had taken quite a beating over the years and it was the main reason we had held off the wedding for as long as we had.

Those initial months after we'd rescued Stefan from Klaus had been brutal, consumed with threats towards my life through the bars on the cellar door and terrifying looks of carnal hunger in those hazel orbs of his. It had gotten to the point where I wasn't sure we'd ever see the true Stefan again, but then moments started appearing where his features would soften and we'd see a spark of life behind the monster lurking before us. Eventually, he came back fully.

Stefan knew that the relationship he had left with me was no longer present, but the original plan was still orchestrated. My relationship with Damon was kept a secret from the fragile younger brother until we both knew he was ready to deal with it. When that finally happened, all of the progress he'd made vanished and Stefan reverted back to the monster.

It broke my heart knowing that mine and Damon's choices had done this to him and after a few more weeks, I was finally able to step through the door caging Stefan in and actually talk to him. I knew it had to be difficult for Stefan to hear why my decision had changed, but ultimately he'd understood. That doesn't mean he wasn't heartbroken. He was and it reflected on his expression every day, although I knew he did his best to hide it.

For the next few years, Damon and I resisted behaving in ways that would dig the knife around Stefan's heart any more than it already had been. We'd limited our episodes between the sheets to solely my bedroom and we didn't partake in PDA when Stefan was around. It was difficult, but we made it work for Stefan's sake and we made up for it when we were alone.

Finally, the day came where Stefan was ready to move on, not just from me, but from Mystic Falls. I know it pained Damon having to say goodbye to his brother, and I didn't miss the irony in this situation at all, but he'd gone along with his brother's decision.

Stefan had only been gone six months when we'd received the first call informing us that he was alright, actually better than alright. And the reason behind that was here with us today. The vampire's name was Elizabeth and she lit up Stefan's face in a way that I hadn't seen in so many years. She made him happy, that was easy to comprehend, but she melded back the pieces of his broken heart. And for that I would forever be grateful because I knew how much of an impact that had on setting up the building blocks for a solid relationship.

After we received the call about Elizabeth, Damon had popped the question. Finally content that his brother had moved on and we could just _be_ without causing him more pain. And a few months ago, Stefan and Elizabeth had moved into their own house here in Mystic Falls.

This happened because everyone always came back. Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, and Jeremy had at least. They'd all left for the big apple, while I stayed behind with Damon to care for Stefan. They'd all attended their dream schools while I took classes at Mystic Falls Community College, but I wasn't resentful. I'd made my decision and to this day, I still stand firmly behind it. I'd still been able to take my required writing classes and get my necessary degree and I'd still found a job that kept me happy.

As for the others, they'd all attended the same schools they had in my first trip into the future. But instead of finding jobs in the city of New York, they'd all come back home afterwards. They liked to joke it was because they missed the simplicity of Mystic Falls, but we all knew the real reason. They'd come back for Damon and I, and besides Mystic Falls was _never_ simple; if anything it was more dangerous than the crime threating the streets of New York City. Still, Caroline had been the only one to ever come clean and actually admit they'd come back for me. But, honestly, I didn't need the truth; all that mattered was that they had.

Once they came back, it amused me in the beginning once my friends started picking jobs because they all seemed to resemble the ones they'd chosen before.

Tyler had become the football coach at Mystic Falls High, while Caroline had taken the director's position for all of the programs and plays at the school. She was stuck conversing with mellow-dramatic teenagers all day, so naturally she often caught herself acting like one. But every time she did, she'd immediately reassure me that the job would benefit us later down the road. She'd become a master at costume make-up and she insisted we'd need her expertise at applying slight wrinkles and streaks of gray to our hair when we "get older." At that, I always laughed.

Bonnie had also taken a job at a school, but her choice had been Mystic Falls Community College. She taught the same class her grandmother had before she passed and it was obvious she loved her work. She was one of those people you wanted to smack across the face because they'd been lucky enough to land their dream job, but I couldn't have been more pleased for her. Because she was happy and therefor Jeremy was happy.

Instead of taking a job at Virgin records, he'd started taking on freelance jobs. Whenever someone needed a Graphic Artist to design a print campaign or website, he was their guy, which worked out perfectly when the twins showed up because he was able to work from home. They hadn't exactly been planned, but needless to say, they'd been a pleasant surprise.

And then there were those that had remained exactly the same as last time. Liz was still the sheriff of Mystic Falls and Ric was still happily married to Meredith. The only thing missing was a date for Liz, but Caroline had assured me that she was in the process of hooking her mother up with a co-worker and to keep my fingers crossed.

As I looked at the gathering of my friends now, I realized that everyone I loved was here, even those I never expected to love the way I did. But that's what happened when life works out perfectly. Knowing what the universe already intends to throw your way really helps in making that happen and not a day goes by when I don't mentally thank Bonnie for letting me peer into my future.

It was because of her spell that I'd been able to get my life set on the right track this time and also the reason I had the strength to withstand the crap the universe still attempted to throw my way. I was stronger, wiser, and so much happier than I ever thought I could be.

The music playing from Caroline's IPod then switched tracks into a slow dance and instantly Damon's eyes caught mine from across the back patio. He didn't even attempt to cross the distance at human speed, and instead flashed before me, hand sliding around my waist and pulling me in.

"Hello Mrs. Salvatore," he purred with a devilish grin, resulting in tingles all the way from the tips of my toes to the point of my nose.

"Hello Mr. Salvatore," I replied with the same sultry tone as the fingers of his free hand then twined themselves between mine and we started to sway to the music. We twirled around the dance floor, our actions symmetrical and fluid; the way everything with us was. He'd spin me out and pull me back in with ease, my dress twirling out at my base, hazing me in my princess façade; which made sense really, since I'd gotten my happy ending.

Every once in a while, he'd lean in to whisper something either completely inappropriate, forcing me to laugh, or something downright sweet that had my lips curling upward and my eyes squinting in pleasure.

The moment was incredible; the evening was incredible; hell, our lives were incredible. And I just couldn't stop smiling from the fascination of it all. Then again, I didn't want to.

So I didn't and as the song finally came to its end, Damon titled me backwards. I thought his lips were going to approach mine, but instead he just looked at me. He was a vision, enchanting and completely illuminated from obtaining everything that had been denied from him in his past. And what he said next was better than any kiss I could have received at the moment.

"You're mine now. Forever," he whispered adoringly.

I smiled at the tone and mimicked back appropriately, "And you're mine," before I pressed my lips against his.

And all I could think about was that maybe, in the literal sense, forever wasn't in our future, but we were getting the better part of it. And besides, we still had today, we had tomorrow, and we had one hell of a lifetime to make it count.

Except the difference this time was that we already had.

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><p><em><strong>Please Read and Review. :)<strong>_

**Thank you to everyone what has reviewed, subscribed, favorited, and read this story. It was written to help me get through a very difficult time in my life, hence all of the crazy emotions flying around and my insistent need to screw around with the characters. I never imagined that it would be as successful as it was and appreciate all of the time you guys have put into it.**

**Your support is the reason I keep writing, so once again, thank you!**


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